When it rains, it pours. The New York Post reports, “An assistant to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who has accused him of groping her while they took a selfie together filed a criminal complaint against him with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office”:
The victim, who was identified as “Executive Assistant #1,” in Attorney General Letitia James’ sexual harassment report, filed the complaint during a brief Thursday afternoon meeting with sheriff’s officials, who have since contacted the Albany County District Attorney’s office, Sheriff Craig Apple told The Post.
The allegations against the governor, which are among the most serious accusations detailed in James’s report, include the claim that he pulled the complainant in for a hug, reached under her blouse, and fondled one of her breasts. The incident is said to have taken place in the Executive Mansion in Albany on Nov. 16, 2019.
“I mean it was — he was like cupping my breast. He cupped my breast,” the woman told investigators according to the AG’s report, adding:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
I have to tell you it was — at the moment I was in such shock that I could just tell you that I just remember looking down seeing his hand, seeing the top of my bra and I remember it was like a little even the cup — the kind of bra that I had to the point I could tell you doesn’t really fit me properly, it was a little loose, I just remember seeing exactly that.
A second groping incident took place a month later, according to the accuser, who also told investigators that Cuomo groped her after asking her to snap selfies inside his office at the Executive Mansion on Dec. 31, 2019.
As she took the photo, Cuomo “moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it” for at least five seconds, the AG report alleges.
Unsurprisingly, a spokesman for the governor denied that either incident occurred. Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, said the governor “never groped Ms. X,” adding, “This claim is false, as the Governor has stated repeatedly and unequivocally.”
Ed Morrissey of Hot Air raises the question of what this will mean for Cuomo’s impeachment, noting:
Yesterday Cuomo committed to cooperation with the impeachment committee. Now that he’s facing a criminal charge, his attorneys will advise him to keep quiet.
Morrissey quotes a CBS analysis, which explains:
If the Assembly does vote for articles of impeachment, the case would go to the state Senate for trial.
Many hope it won’t come to that, because the Cuomo lawyers would face the possibility they would have to cross-examine some of the 11 women accusers and try to discredit them.
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“Isn’t it better to resign on your own volition than get kicked out?” Queens state Senator John Liu remarked.
