Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s characterization of the sexual harassment he accuses staff of inflicting on staff as simply “being playful” and making “jokes” fell flat Monday, with one of his prosecutors and Mayor Bill de Blasio both calling for the “non- apology “.
Cuomo, 63, offered the dubious defense on Sunday, a day after Charlotte Bennett became the second former staffer within days to accuse the governor of sexual harassment at work.
“As we know, abusers – especially those with tremendous amounts of power – are often repeat offenders who engage in manipulative tactics to reduce accusations, blame victims, deny wrongdoing and escape the consequences,” said Bennett, 25, in a damning statement on Monday.
“It took the governor 24 hours and significant backlash to make a truly independent investigation possible,” continued Bennett. “These are not the actions of someone who just feels misunderstood; they are the actions of a person who exercises his power to avoid justice. “
Bennett told the New York Times in a piece published Saturday that Cuomo made a series of dissenting comments last year and asked probing questions about her sex life, leading her to believe the divorced father of three “ wanted to sleep with her. ” .
As outrage from the two sides grew, Cuomo issued the prepared statement on Sunday, calling his behavior “jokes” that could be construed as “unwanted flirtation” – while denying any unwanted intentions and insisting that he will never give up on anyone. improperly touched.
On Monday, De Blasio exulted the reaction of his frequent political rival.
“The governor has previously offered a total non-apology and in fact treated sexual harassment as a kind of pushover,” Hizzoner told CNN’s Jake Tapper. It’s not a joke. It’s very, very serious things.
“When I read the account of what Charlotte Bennett went through, I cringed,” de Blasio continued. “ Here’s someone who can determine whether she’s had a job or not, whether she’s got a career or not, literally suggests all kinds of perverse sexual possibilities for her, and she’s alone in a room with him. Think how grotesque that is. “
Asked if he thought Cuomo should resign if the charges are true, De Blasio said yes.
“If you sexually harassed young women at work … how can someone look people in the eye afterwards?” he asked. “If these allegations are proven, there is simply no way he can rule.”
Bennett spoke out less than a week after another former assistant, Lindsey Boylan, 36, wrote a Medium piece claiming that Cuomo kissed her on the lips without warning and suggested they pass a flight by playing strip poker.
State Attorney General Letitia James received the formal green light from the Cuomo government on Monday to launch an independent investigation into the allegations of the bomb.
“This is not a responsibility we take lightly, as allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously,” said James. “As stated in the letter, the findings will be disclosed in a public report at the end of the review.”
In accordance with state law, on Sunday morning, James requested a “referral” from the governor’s office to investigate, only for Beth Garvey, Cuomo’s special counsel, to try to negotiate the process.
Garvey suggested that James could work with Judge Janet DiFiore – a Cuomo-appointed person – to agree on an independent investigator.
But, faced with intense bipartisan pressure to let a truly independent investigation run its course, Garvey admitted late on Sunday and agreed to allow James the referral.
And Cuomo’s interactions with women came under further scrutiny on Monday.
“I want you to eat the whole sausage,” Cuomo told female reporter Beth Cefalu during a chilling exchange as they chow down at the 2016 New York State Fair, the video of which re-emerged on Twitter.
Cuomo then invited Cefalu to sit at his table and pose for a selfie, where the creepy one-liners kept coming.
“There’s too much sausage in that photo,” Cuomo said, laughing at the others at the table.
However, Cefalu made it clear on Monday that she was not bothered by the exchange.
“I was not pressured / harassed, these are two people enjoying the one event – the NYS fair – which gives them a little bit more freedom to be casual,” she tweeted. “It’s really sad that something more is being made of it.”
However, another now former member of the New York press corps came forward and said she had left the industry, in part because of “ intimidating ” behavior from the governor’s office.
Lindsay Nielsen, formerly of News 10 ABC of Albany, posted on Twitter on Sunday that the governor’s office responded to critical reports with “incessant bullying” during her stay at the station from 2012 to 2017.
“They would make it personal and claim that I have a personal vendetta against the governor, which is absolutely bogus,” Nielsen told The Post on Monday. “All I ever tried was reporting the story, reporting the facts.”
Additional reporting by Bruce Golding and Natalie Musumeci