A woman has filed a criminal complaint against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, accusing him of groping her breast.
The former employee in Mr Cuomo‘s office, known only as “Executive Assistant #1”, filed the complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s office on Thursday.
The development increases the possibility that Mr Cuomo could face criminal charges.
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The alleged incident was the most serious of a number of claims detailed in a 165-page report released by the New York attorney general’s office this week.
The report alleged that Mr Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women and that his office was “toxic”, creating a “climate of fear”.
Executive Assistant #1 said Mr Cuomo, 63, hugged her and then reached under her shirt and fondled her breast.
The incident is said to have taken place at the governor’s mansion in the state capital, Albany, in November 2020.
In the attorney general’s report, Executive Assistant #1 was quoted as saying: “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….”
The report, based on interviews with complainants, alleged that Mr Cuomo “slid his hand up her blouse, and grabbed her breast, ‘cup[ping her] breast’ over her bra”.
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Joe Biden calls on Andrew Cuomo to resign
In a TV statement responding to the attorney general’s report, Mr Cuomo denied any wrongdoing and described the woman’s claims as “another allegation that I groped a woman in my office”, adding: “That never happened”.
The governor’s lawyers had already said they would tackle the claims head-on in the courts if required.
Responding to news that the woman had now filed a criminal complaint, Mr Cuomo’s spokesman, Richard Azzopardi, said: “As we said previously, we proactively made a referral nearly four months ago in accordance with state policies.”
In a lengthy statement, released this week in response to all the allegations, Mr Cuomo’s attorney addressed Executive Assistant #1’s claims, saying: “The governor was stunned by her claim made for the first time in early March 2021 (after Lindsay Boylan and Charlotte Bennett’s claims were made public) that he groped her breast under her shirt and over her bra in his mansion office during a work day in November 2020.
“This claim is false, as the governor has stated repeatedly and unequivocally.”
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March: Andrew Cuomo says he did not intend to make anyone uncomfortable
The statement continued: “He has never behaved in this manner and never would.
“It would be a pure act of insanity for the governor – who is 63 years old and lives his life under a microscope – to grab an employee’s breast in the middle of the work day at his mansion office.
“This simply did not happen.”
Since the release of the attorney general’s report this week, calls have grown for Mr Cuomo to step down.
US President Joe Biden, a friend and political ally of the governor, also told reporters that he thought Mr Cuomo should resign.
An impeachment probe is also nearing its conclusion, with the governor agreeing to give evidence to investigators.
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Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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