Justice Department: Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women while governor

Jan. 26 (UPI) -- The Justice Department on Friday announced an agreement with the New York governors office that former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 13 women who worked for the state over eight years.

The agreement concluded that the Cuomo administration violated federal Title VII rules against discrimination and retaliation between 2013 and 2021.

Justice Department officials said Cuomo and his staff engaged in a "pattern or practice of discrimination against female employees based on sex" and retaliated against the women who spoke up. The agreement did not disclose the identities of the 13 employees.

"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," Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general in the agency's Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.

The investigation was conducted by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorneys office in Brooklyn.

Cuomo's successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, had implemented a series of reforms after Cuomo resigned in 2021 following accusations from former aid Brittany Commisso.

Commisso was one of 11 women whose claims were substantiated in a separate report by Attorney General Letitia James, on which the Justice Department investigation relied heavily.

Commisso filed a civil lawsuit against Cuomo in November under the state's Adult Survivors Act, alleging Cuomo engaged in "unwelcome sexual advances, sexualized comments about appearance and personal matters," among other acts.

Following the Justice Department agreement, federal officials said they would aid Hochul in expanding her office's human resources department, create new policies and procedures for reporting and develop training for anti-retaliation programs.

"I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged the significance of those efforts, and look forward to partnering with them as we continue to build upon that success," Hochul said in a statement.

Despite these "significant" efforts, Commisso claimed she also faced retaliation under Hochul's administration and was demoted multiple times before finally being told two years ago by a high-ranking staffer that she should "hit the pavement."

While the Justice Department determined harassment did happen under Cuomo's administration, the legal agreement does not "constitute an adjudication or finding on the merits of the case."

Delaney Kempner, a spokesperson for James, issued a statement Friday saying the Justice Department's agreement affirmed the findings of the attorney general's investigation.

"Andrew Cuomo can continue to deny the truth and attack these women, but the facts do not lie," Kempner said.

Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin insisted the former governor was not guilty of sexual harassment, and that the DOJ's investigation was based on the "deeply flawed, inaccurate, biased and misleading" attorney general's report.

"At no point did DOJ even contact Governor Cuomo concerning these matters. This is nothing more than a political settlement with no investigation," Glavin said in a statement.

Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and has insisted James inflated the number of women accusers in her investigation.

The disgraced former governor has not ruled out running for office again and hinted he may be eyeing embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams' seat.