一名女发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻,一名前纽约州雇员向奥尔巴尼县警长办公室提交了对纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫的刑事投诉。
据信,这是继周二事件后,针对这位四面楚歌的州长提起的第一起投诉总检察长报告结论是他性骚扰了至少11名女性,违反了州和联邦法律。
提起诉讼的女性是前州长助理,在司法部长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯周二发布的报告中,她被认定为“1号行政助理”。
报告称:“大约自2019年末以来,州长与1号行政助理进行了一系列不当行为。
据调查人员称,这些行为包括亲密的拥抱、亲吻、触摸和抓住她的背部以及暗示性的言论。该报告列出了1号行政助理对科莫最严重的指控,指控他于2020年11月在奥尔巴尼的行政大楼里把手伸到她的衬衫下面,抚摸她的乳房。
科莫有否认所有性骚扰指控和不当行为。
库莫的律师丽塔·格拉文(Rita Glavin)周二在回应该报道时表示,州长“从未乱摸过X女士”,并补充道,“这种说法是错误的,正如州长一再明确表示的那样。”
咨询小组的报告称,奥尔巴尼警察局收到了关于据称1号行政助理遭到性骚扰的报警。
针对周五的投诉,州长发言人理查德·阿兹佐帕迪(Richard Azzopardi)在一份声明中表示,“正如我们之前所说,我们在近四个月前根据州政策主动进行了转介。”
奥尔巴尼地方检察官大卫·苏亚雷斯告诉记者WAMC电台“有一份官方报告现在已经提交给执法部门,”他补充说,“我相信警长正在做警长应该做的事情。他应该接受这份报告。”
投诉消息传出几小时后,科莫的律师格拉文在新闻发布会上表示,纽约股份公司的报告遗漏了重要事实。
“进行调查是为了支持预先确定的说法,”格拉文说。"这里没有开放的事实调查."
格拉文对这份报告中对首席执行官助理的描述做出了回应,称事件的时间表与这位女士与奥尔巴尼时报联盟分享的说法不符。该网站在三月份发布了她的报道。
“文件证据不支持她说的话,”格拉文说。
周五,她与行政法庭的两位律师保罗·菲什曼和米特拉·霍莫齐一起参加了Zoom视频会议。
菲什曼谴责司法部长拒绝提供报告的高级副本,以便州长准备反驳声明,并呼吁办公室公布调查中进行的所有采访的记录。
格拉文和菲什曼都质疑报告的发现,即州长的工作人员在原告林赛·博伊兰提出性骚扰指控后对她进行了报复。
“总检察长办公室是否正确是一个非常严重的法律问题,”菲什曼说。
本周早些时候,博伊兰的律师说她打算起诉科莫因为据称她站出来后报复了她。
“我们的计划是起诉州长和他的同谋者,”博伊兰的律师吉尔·贝辛格告诉美国广播公司新闻“早安美国”,他引用了AG报告中概述的报复行动。
官员们周四表示,纽约州议会对科莫的弹劾调查“接近完成”,司法委员会将于周一上午开会讨论调查。
到目前为止,至少有五个地区检察官办公室——曼哈顿、奥尔巴尼、威彻斯特县、拿骚县和奥斯维戈县——已经就报告中概述的在其管辖范围内发生的涉嫌事件对科莫展开调查。
“州长显然形成了一种行为模式,这种模式至少表现出一种权利感,无视他人的福祉和许多女性的自尊,”奥斯维戈地区检察官格雷戈里·奥克斯对罗切斯特当地的美国广播公司下属机构说重打。
Woman files criminal complaint against Gov. Cuomo in Albany
A former New York State employee has filed a criminal complaint against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with the Albany County Sheriff's Office, a spokeswoman told ABC News.
This is believed to be the first complaint filed against the embattled governor in wake of Tuesday'sAttorney General reportwhich concluded he violated state and federal law in sexually harassing at least 11 women.
The woman who filed the complaint is a former assistant to the governor who is identified as "Executive Assistant #1" in Attorney General Letitia James' report released Tuesday.
"Since approximately late 2019 the Governor engaged in a pattern of inappropriate conduct with Executive Assistant #1," the report said.
The conduct included close and intimate hugs, kisses, touching and grabbing of her backside and suggestive remarks, according to the investigators. The report listed that Executive Assistant #1 had what appeared to be the most serious allegation against Cuomo, accusing him of reaching under her shirt and fondling her breast in the Executive Mansion in Albany in November 2020.
Cuomo hasdenied all allegations of sexual harassmentand misconduct.
Cuomo's lawyer Rita Glavin said in a response to the report Tuesday that the governor "never groped Ms. X," adding, "This claim is false, as the Governor has stated repeatedly and unequivocally."
The AG report stated that the Albany Police Department was alerted about the alleged groping of Executive Assistant #1.
In response to the Friday complaint, the governor's spokesperson Richard Azzopardi said in a statement, "As we said previously, we proactively made a referral nearly four months ago in accordance with state policies."
Albany District Attorney David Soares toldWAMC radio, "There is an official report that is now filed with law enforcement," adding "I believe the sheriff is doing what the sheriff is supposed to do. He's supposed to take the report."
Hours after news of the complaint broke, Cuomo's attorney Glavin said in a press conference that the NY AG report omitted important facts.
"The investigation was conducted to support a predetermined narrative" Glavin said. "There has been no open minded fact finding here."
Glavin responded to the report's account of Executive Assistant #1, saying the timeline of events did not match up with the woman's claims shared with the Albany Times-Union,which published her account in March.
"The documentary evidence does not support what she said," Glavin said.
She was joined by two attorneys for the Executive Chamber, Paul Fishman and Mitra Hormozi, for the Zoom video conference Friday.
Fishman condemned the attorney general for refusing to provide an advanced copy of the report so the governor could prepare rebuttal statements and called for the office to release transcripts of all interviews conducted in the investigation.
Glavin and Fishman both challenged the report's finding that the governor's staff retaliated against accuser Lindsey Boylan after she came forward with her sexual harassment allegations.
"There is a very serious legal issue about whether the attorney general's office is correct," Fishman said.
Earlier this week Boylan's attorney saidshe intends to sue Cuomofor allegedly retaliating against her after she came forward.
"Our plan is to sue the governor and his co-conspirators," Boylan's attorney, Jill Basinger, told ABC News' "Good Morning America," citing the retaliatory actions outlined in the AG report.
The New York State Assembly's impeachment investigation into Cuomo "is nearing completion," officials said Thursday, and the Judiciary Committee will meet Monday morning to discuss the probe.
So far at least five district attorney offices -- Manhattan, Albany, Westchester County, Nassau County and Oswego County -- have launched investigations into Cuomo for alleged incidents outlined in the report that took place in their jurisdictions.
"The governor certainly seems to form a pattern of behavior that shows a sense, at a minimum, of an entitlement and a disregard of the well-being of others and the self-respect of many women," Oswego District Attonry Gregory Oakes said to local ABC affiliate in RochesterWHAM.