Gov. Cuomo faces another sexual harassment complaint

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo was accused of another sexual harassment claim by a former aide named Charlotte Bennett.
• The 25-year-old health policy adviser said that the governor told her he was open to having sexual relations with women of her age.
• Bennett’s accusation comes days after another former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan released details from her sexual misconduct claim against the governor.

Amid growing calls for impeachment because of the COVID-19 crisis mishap, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has been accused of another sexual misconduct claim by a former aide.

Speaking with the New York Times, Cuomo’s former health policy adviser Charlotte Bennett, 25, said that the governor asked her if she had experienced having sexual relations with an older man. Cuomo then added that he was open to having relations with young women like her. 

The governor quickly rebuked the allegation. In an issued statement, he described Bennett as a “hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID.”

“I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported,” Cuomo argued.

The governor also proclaimed that he initiated an independent review that would probe into the accusations. Former federal judge Barbara Jones will lead the assessment.

“I ask all New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgments. I will have no further comment until the review has concluded,” Cuomo said.

Speaking with the Times, Bennett claimed that Cuomo never touched her, though she “understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.”

In June of last year, Bennett said that she notified the governor’s chief of staff Jill DesRosier about the incident. Cuomo’s special counsel Beth Garvey also said that she knew about the accusation. 

Bennett got transferred to a different role which sits at the other side of the Capitol. She left her post in November.

Bennett’s accusation came following the sexual harassment claim of former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan. Last week, Boylan said that he “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms, and legs.”

The governor’s spokeswoman Caitlan Girouard rejected Boylan’s claims, arguing that her allegations of “inappropriate behavior are quite simply false.”

Newsweek has already requested for comment from Cuomo’s office.

Aside from the sexual harassment issues, the governor is also receiving growing calls of impeachment due to the nursing home death toll mishap, revealing that Cuomo’s COVID-19 top officials concealed the magnitude of fatalities of the coronavirus.

Source: Newsweek