ALBANY, New York (WWNY) – “I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.” Those words came from Governor Andrew Cuomo Tuesday in a pre-recorded statement released within hours of the state Attorney General’s damning report on sexual harassment.
“That is just not who I am,” he said.
AG Letitia James announced a 5-month investigation found that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in and out of state government and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.
“I cooperated with the review and I can now finally share the truth. My attorney, who is a non-political former federal prosecutor has done a response to each allegation and the facts are much different than what has been portrayed. That document is on my website,” said Cuomo.
As he has said in the past, Cuomo said he has a tendency to hug or kiss people to show warmth.
“I do kiss people on the forehead, I do kiss people on the cheek, men and women,” he said. “I do sometimes slip and call people sweetheart or honey, I do sometimes tell jokes. I try to put people at ease.”
In his taped response, Cuomo apologized to two accusers: former aide Charlotte Bennett, who said the governor asked if she was open to sex with an older man after she confided in him that she had been a victim of sexual assault, and a woman he kissed at a wedding — an incident reported in a front-page story in The New York Times.
Still, Cuomo equivocated and lashed out at the investigative process, saying it was rife with “politics and bias.” He explained that he’s been physically embracing people his whole life, that his mother and father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, had done the same and that the gesture was meant to “convey warmth.”
“For those who are using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain. I say they actually discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect,” Cuomo said.
High profile Democrats and Republicans have called for the governor to step down.
Cuomo also appeared to reject the calls for his resignation, saying he would “not be distracted” from his work as governor.
See Cuomo’s full statement below:
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