NY Governor Cuomo tells a fan 'I'm not going anywhere, darling' despite sexual harassment claims from nine women
One of Gov Andrew Cuomo's accuser's lawyers has accused him of trying to interfere in the Attorney General's investigation and intimidate witnesses by having his own attorneys interview them about it before they testify, and 'debrief them' afterwards.
Debra Katz is the attorney representing Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who is accusing Cuomo is sexual harassment. She says when she worked for him in the summer, he asked her about her sex life and whether or not she would sleep with an older man.
New York Attorney General Letitia James is conducting an investigation into her claims and the claims of at least six other women who have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.
One says he put his hand inside her blouse once to grope her. He denies all allegations of impropriety.
On Monday, he gave another indicator that he will not step down.
Cuomo was finishing an appearance at a church does for journalists when a supporter cried out to him: 'I love you and you better stay where you are, we’ve got your back. I love you.
'We love you, we need you at the finish line, you better stay.'
He replied: 'OK, I’m not going anywhere, darling.'
Cuomo waving to fans outside a baptist church in Mt. Vernon on Monday at an event that he closed off to the media, and where he told a fan: 'I'm not going anywhere, darling'
Debra Katz is the attorney representing Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who is accusing Cuomo is sexual harassment. Katz has accused the governor of attempting to intimidate witnesses
Cuomo's administration last week hired outside counsel to investigate the specific groping claim, and those attorneys have contacted staff.
Katz claimed in a letter to AG James on Monday that the attorneys are also 'debriefing' staff once they have spoken to James' investigators.
'This is highly improper and we object in the strongest possible terms to this obvious interference with what you have stated would be a ‘thorough and independent’ investigation,' she said in the letter.
'What the governor is doing is classic intimidation of witnesses 101.
'Trying to know what witnesses are telling investigators after their interviews or asking to come along is clearly designed to chill people’s willingness to speak to investigators.
'There is no reason that witnesses should be told anything other than the attorney general has hired two excellent investigators, speak to them,' Katz later told CBS in an interview.
Cuomo's acting counsel, Beth Garvey, told DailyMail.com on Monday: 'These are the facts: Outside counsel was hired to represent the Chamber.
'Employees have been advised that, if they want to be represented by a lawyer in this matter, they may choose private counsel or the outside counsel that is representing the Chamber.'
She added that they are under obligation to internally investigate the groping allegation, saying: 'We fully informed the AG's office of the required process with this type of allegation and they said to follow it.'
Multiple women have accused the governor of sexual harassment and others have described a toxic work environment where they said he was a bully.
He is refusing to step down despite the mounting allegations.
Cuomo is pictured on Monday at ab event a a church in Mt. Vernon. He is not allowing the media to attend the events, claiming it is down to COVID-19 restrictions
Cuomo on Monday after repeatedly refusing to step down. He told a fan: 'I'm not going anywhere, darling'
He has retreated from the press by holding appearances in locations where he says they can't attend due to COVID-19 restrictions, and not setting up the Zoom link for journalists to submit questions through that he had been doing before.
Cuomo with Charlotte Bennett, one of seven women who has accused him of sexual harassment
Cuomo said that he may have inadvertently made some women feel uncomfortable in the past but that his natural way of greeting people was often by hugging and kissing them.
In addition to the sex harassment claims, he is facing allegations of a cover up over COVID-19 nursing home deaths.
The state health department did not count the death of anyone who died in a hospital after being transported there from a nursing home as a nursing home death.
Instead, they said it was a hospital death which made the total nursing home death toll significantly lower than it actually was.
Many have claimed it was a strategic move to obfuscate the numbers, especially a controversial directive that sent thousands of recovering COVID patients back into nursing homes despite having tested positive.
Some of those families gathered this weekend for a memorial.
