AG's report: The women who came forward

Investigators working for State Attorney General Letitia James' office concluded that Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed "a number" of current and former New York State employees.

The report released Tuesday said Cuomo engaged in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching of women, and created a hostile work environment by making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature.

Cuomo responded after the report's release, saying in a video that "I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. I am 63 years old. I have lived my entire adult life in public view. That is just not who I am and that's not who I have ever been."

Here is a listing of the women in the report, the investigators’ findings and Cuomo’s responses.

Executive Assistant #1

Findings: Since approximately late 2019, Cuomo engaged in a pattern of inappropriate conduct, which included close and intimate hugs; kisses on the cheeks, forehead, and at least one kiss on the lips; touching and grabbing of the employee’s butt, and comments and jokes by the governor about the employee’s personal life, including calling her and another assistant "mingle mamas." During an incident at the Executive Mansion in November 2020, Cuomo hugged her and reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast.

Cuomo’s response: The governor told investigators that he did not touch her inappropriately. He said he did regularly hug her, but said that it was Executive Assistant #1 who was the "initiator of the hugs," while he was "more in the reciprocal business."

Trooper #1

Findings: After Trooper #1 joined the governor’s personal protection unit, Cuomo sexually harassed her on a number of occasions, including by running his hand across her stomach, from her belly button to her right hip, while she held a door open for him at an event; running his finger down her back, from the top of her neck down her spine to the middle of her back; kissing her on the cheek in front of another trooper, and asking to kiss her on another occasion.

Cuomo’s response: He does recall hugging the trooper and said he may have kissed her on the cheek at a Christmas party, according to the report. However, he denied ever purposely touching Trooper #1 on her stomach or running his fingers down her back.

Charlotte Bennett

Findings: In a series of conversations in 2020 with Bennett, Cuomo made inappropriate comments, including telling Bennett that he would be willing to date someone who was as young as 22 years old and asking her whether she had been with older men. Cuomo’s comments coincided with discussions she previously had with the governor about her having been a survivor of sexual assault.

Cuomo’s response: "I have heard Charlotte and her lawyer and I understand what they are saying, but they read into comments that I made and draw inferences that I never meant," Cuomo said in the video Tuesday. "They ascribe motives I never had. And simply put, they heard things that I just didn't say."

State Entity Employee #1

Findings: While posing for pictures at a September 2019 event, Cuomo put his hand on this female employee’s butt, tapped it twice, and then grabbed her butt.

Cuomo's response: Cuomo denied touching her inappropriately, according to the report.

Virginia Limmiatis

Findings: At a 2017 event, Cuomo ran two fingers across her chest. The governor then leaned in, with his face close to Limmiatis’ cheek, and said, "I’m going to say I see a spider on your shoulder," before brushing his hand in the area between her shoulder and breasts.

Cuomo's response: Cuomo denied touching her inappropriately, according to the report.

Lindsey Boylan

Findings: During the period in which Lindsey Boylan served as chief of staff to the CEO of the Empire State Development Corp. and later as deputy secretary for Economic Development and special adviser to the governor, the governor physically touched her on various parts of her body, including her waist, legs and back; made inappropriate comments, including once saying to her on a plane words to the effect of, "Let’s play strip poker."

Cuomo's response: "Through a series of public statements that began with tweets in December 2020 and culminated in a February 24, 2021, Medium essay, Boylan has essentially claimed that she resigned from her state post due to a hostile work environment. This is inaccurate," said Cuomo's "position statement" issued Tuesday by his attorney, Rita M. Glavin. It goes on to contest several statements Boylan has made.

Alyssa McGrath

The findings: In his interactions with this executive assistant, Cuomo regularly asked about her personal life, including her marital status and divorce; asked whether McGrath planned to "mingle" with men — then called her and Executive Assistant #1 "mingle mamas."

Cuomo's response: The governor did refer to Ms. McGrath and Executive Assistant #1 as "mingle mamas," as McGrath claims, but he did so only in response to their telling him, before leaving for a vacation together to Florida, that they were "single and ready to mingle" because they would be vacationing without their spouses and children. He made the comment in a friendly banter that was typical in the office, according to Cuomo's position statement.

Kaitlin

Findings: Cuomo commented on this staffer's appearance on a number of occasions, including commenting on her not being "ready" for work if she was not wearing makeup or was not dressed nicely. On one occasion, he asked her to look up car parts on eBay on his computer, which she had to bend over to do, while wearing a skirt and heels, as the governor sat directly behind her in his office.

Cuomo's response: "The governor does not recall any remarks about Kaitlin’s appearance but does not dispute that he occasionally makes comments about employees’ appearance — usually in a complimentary way and sometimes as a lighthearted joke," according to Cuomo's position statement.

Ana Liss

Findings: During the time that Liss worked as an aide in the Executive Chamber from 2013 to 2015, the governor addressed her almost exclusively as "sweetheart" or "darling;" on occasion, kissed her on the cheeks and hand, touched and held her hands, and slid his hand around her lower waist; commented on how she looked "lovely;" and asked whether she had a boyfriend.

Cuomo's response: The governor said he did not remember Liss, according to the report.

State Entity Employee #2

Findings: On March 17, 2020, the employee participated in a press conference with the governor, during which she performed a live COVID-19 nasal swab test on him. As they were preparing for the press conference, the governor requested that State Entity Employee #2 not put the swab too deeply up his nose. State Entity Employee #2 replied that she would be "gentle but accurate," to which the governor responded, "[G]entle but accurate, I’ve heard that before." State Entity Employee #2 felt that the governor intended to convey a "joke of an implied sexual nature."

Cuomo's response: The governor told investigators that he did not recall saying anything specific to State Entity Employee #2 before the press conference, including any statement using the phrase "gentle and accurate," according to the report.

Anna Ruch

Findings: On Sept. 14, 2019, at the wedding party of one of the governor’s senior aides, Cuomo approached Ruch, shook her hand, and then quickly moved his hands to her back, touching her bare skin where there was a cutout in her dress. Ruch, feeling uncomfortable, grabbed the governor’s wrist and removed his hand from her back. The governor cupped her face in his hands and said, "Can I kiss you?" Without waiting for a response, and as Ruch tried to move and turn her face away, the governor kissed her left cheek.

Cuomo's response: "He had no intention to make her feel uncomfortable, particularly at a wedding he officiated for a staff member where many other staffers were in attendance," according to Cuomo's position statement.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.