Content warning: this story references sexual harassment
An investigation into New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has found that he sexually harassed 11 women and created a "toxic" workplace in violation of the law, the state's top prosecutor said on Tuesday.
State Attorney General Letitia James unveiled the findings of the five-month independent inquiry, touching off calls from across the political spectrum for Mr Cuomo to step down.
In a video statement issued after the attorney general's briefing, Mr Cuomo, 63, denied he had acted inappropriately and made clear he had no plans to resign.
The civil investigation will not directly lead to criminal charges against Mr Cuomo, but the Albany County district attorney is conducting his own probe and requested any relevant material already gathered.
Mr Cuomo, a third-term Democratic governor who has served in the post since 2011, called the findings inaccurate and unfair and said his words, gestures and demeanor were misinterpreted and were always intended to convey warmth to the women.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, at a press conference in New York on Tuesday, 3 August, 2021. Source: AP
The findings of the inquiry, detailed in a scathing 168-page report, could deal a devastating blow to Mr Cuomo - once seen as a possible presidential candidate - and hinder his administration.
"What this investigation revealed was a disturbing pattern of conduct by the governor of the great state of New York," said Ms James, a Democrat. "These 11 women were in a hostile and toxic work environment."
President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat who had previously said Mr Cuomo should resign if the allegations were shown by an investigation to be true, said on Tuesday that he stood by that statement.
"I think he should resign," he told reporters.
The report's findings prompted some US lawmakers and senior New York Democrats to demand Mr Cuomo's resignation, underscoring the swift fall for a governor who had became a popular national figure last year in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic by presenting himself as an authoritative figure in daily news conferences.
Joe Biden speaks during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington DC. Source: ABACA
Investigators spoke to 179 people, Ms James said. She said the probe revealed a "climate of fear" in which Mr Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, many of them young, and showed that his office retaliated against a former employee who accused him of wrongdoing.
While many of the accusations against Mr Cuomo were previously known, investigators at the briefing also revealed some new details about what Mr Cuomo's accusers told them.
Anne Clark, a lawyer who helped run the inquiry, said one of the women Mr Cuomo targeted was a state trooper. The governor stood behind her in an elevator and "ran his finger from her neck down her spine and said, 'Hey you.'" The trooper, according to Ms Clark, said Mr Cuomo inappropriately touched her from "her chest to her privates".
Mr Cuomo, a divorced father of three adult daughters, said he is sorry if his behaviour was misunderstood by his accusers, but denied wrongdoing. He said he would "not be distracted" from his work battling the COVID-19 pandemic, a sign he has no intention of resigning.
"I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances," Mr Cuomo said. "I am 63 years old. I've lived my entire adult life in public view. That is just not who I am. And that's not who I have ever been."
"The facts are much different than what has been portrayed," Mr Cuomo added.
Carl Heastie, who as speaker of the Democratic-controlled New York State Assembly has authorised an impeachment investigation into Mr Cuomo's conduct, called the report's findings "disturbing" and said they pointed to "someone who is not fit for office".
On Tuesday afternoon local time, Assembly Democrats held an emergency meeting, according to Politico.
Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat who is the Senate majority leader, said Mr Cuomo should "resign for the good of the state".
Ms James named two veteran outside attorneys to run the investigation: Joon Kim, a former federal prosecutor and acting US attorney in Manhattan, and Ms Clark, an employment lawyer with experience in sexual harassment cases.
Mr Kim said Mr Cuomo's workplace was "rife with bullying, fear and intimidation" and one in which crossing him or his senior staff meant you would be "written off, cast aside or worse".
The report rejected Mr Cuomo's suggestions that his conduct was an innocent reflection of an affectionate Italian-American culture in which he was raised. Investigators found little credibility in his "blanket denials and lack of recollection as to specific incidents".
"What these witnesses - and many others - described is not just old-fashioned, affectionate behavior - it was sexual harassment," the report concluded.
Rita Glavin, a lawyer defending Mr Cuomo against the sexual harassment complaints, released a lengthy "position statement" responding to the report, which she said "purposefully omits key evidence". Ms Glavin accused Ms James of bias.
The statement included pages of photographs of Mr Cuomo embracing or kissing prominent political figures, including Mr Biden, Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Al Gore. It also included multiple photographs of Mr Cuomo kissing his late father, Mario Cuomo, who also served as governor of New York.
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