In a settlement agreement between the feds and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced Friday, the US Attorney’s Office slammed Cuomo for sexually harassing and later retaliating against former employees, even though the former governor continues to deny the allegations.
“Former Governor Cuomo subjected at least thirteen female employees of New York State, including Executive Chamber employees, to a sexually hostile work environment. Governor Cuomo repeatedly subjected these female employees to unwelcome, non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances,” the report reads.
The settlement agreement was the result of federal prosecutors’ own investigation into the former governor, which was carried out separately from probes initiated by Attorney General Letitia James and the state Assembly Judiciary Committee.
The federal investigation into Cuomo began sometime in 2021, revolving around whether Cuomo and his office violated labor and civil right laws as the former governor was being pounded with a litany of sexual harassment allegations.
Though it carries no formal legal charges against Cuomo, the federal settlement drew the same conclusions as the 2021 report by special prosecutors hired by Attorney General Letitia James that ultimately led to the disgraced-ex Governor’s resignation.
“The conduct in the Executive Chamber under the former governor, the state’s most powerful elected official, was especially egregious because of the stark power differential involved and the victims’ lack of avenues to report and redress harassment,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote in a statement.
Attorneys for Cuomo continue to deny the allegations and further claim that the federal investigation was politically motivated.
“This is nothing more than a political settlement with no investigation,” Rita Glavin, an attorney for the former governor, wrote in a statement.
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