Sheriff confirms Cuomo is being criminally investigated for allegedly groping assistant at his mansion in Albany: Governor breaks cover to take his dog 'Captain' for a walk
- Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple held a press conference Saturday
- He said the criminal investigation could lead to the governor's arrest and, based on information so far, he could be slapped with a misdemeanor charge
- The woman's attorney contacted his office Wednesday night and then came in for an hour-long meeting Thursday to file a formal criminal report
- The accuser is known only as 'Executive Assistant #1' in NY Attorney General Letitia James' damning report that found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women
- The aide accused Cuomo of reaching under her shirt and fondling her breast at the Executive Mansion on November 16 2020
- She also alleged he groped her butt while they posed for a selfie in December
- DAs of Manhattan, Albany and Westchester all opened criminal investigations and urged women to come forward after James' report was released Tuesday
- Cuomo denies all of the allegations leveled against him and is refusing to resign
- He was seen taking his dog for a walk outside the executive mansion Saturday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is being criminally investigated for allegedly groping a state employee at his executive mansion in Albany, the county sheriff has confirmed.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said in a press conference Saturday the criminal investigation could lead to the governor's arrest and that, based on the information available so far, he could be slapped with a misdemeanor charge.
'Yes it could lead to an arrest and would our agency be affecting that arrest? Yes absolutely,' he said.
He added that, while he couldn't yet say if it could lead to a misdemeanor or felony charge, 'from what I have read so far it is floating around a misdemeanor but that's just from the attorney general's report.'
The criminal report from the woman, known only as 'Executive Assistant #1' in New York Attorney General Letitia James' damning report that found the governor sexually harassed at least 11 women, is the first known instance where a woman has made an official report with a law enforcement agency over the alleged misconduct by Cuomo.
The District Attorneys of Manhattan, Albany and Westchester all opened criminal investigations into Cuomo's conduct earlier this week and urged women to come forward, following the release of James' investigative report Tuesday.
Cuomo continues to deny all of the allegations leveled against him and is refusing to stand down despite mounting calls for his resignation from former Democrat allies and the impending outcome of an impeachment probe.
The governor broke cover Saturday morning to take his dog for a walk outside the executive mansion, where he has been holing up since the report's release.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is spotted walking his dog in the morning of August 7 outside his home in Albany
The embattled governor looked somber as he spoke on his cellphone during the walk
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said in a press conference Saturday the criminal investigation could lead to the governor's arrest and that, based on the information available so far, he could be slapped with a misdemeanor charge
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with the woman described as 'executive assistant one' in a photo included in New York Attorney General Letitia James' damning report. The woman has now filed a criminal complaint against himApple told reporters Saturday that his office was contacted by the woman's attorney Wednesday night saying she wanted to file an allegation of criminal conduct against the governor.
The accuser and her attorney then came in for an hour-long meeting Thursday where she filed a formal criminal report and the sheriff's office launched an investigation.
'We've reached out to the attorney general's office requesting investigative material to go forward with our investigation and that's where we're at today,' said Apple.
The next steps will involve investigators compiling the facts and carrying out interviews with the victim, he said, before deciding whether to move forward with any charges.
Apple said he would be 'guessing' when asked how long the investigation is likely to take, saying that his team has a 'lot of fact finding' and a 'lot of interviews' to do.
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181 shares'I'm not going to rush it because of who he is and I'm not going to delay it because of who he is,' he said.
He added: 'We treat victims the same. We investigate the same. This one obviously just has more eyes on it.'
When asked if it was too early in the investigation for him to have reached the conclusion that the accuser is a 'victim', Apple fired back that he was 'comfortable' to say this is what she is.
'You're being very presumptive as well,' he responded to the reporter.
'We've all read the attorney general's report and we all know what's in it.
'I'm very comfortable and safe saying she is in fact a victim and I commend all the women for coming forward.'
Apple said it is a 'very tough time' for the alleged victims and that the 'last thing we want to do is have the victims tell their story over and over again.'
The governor and his dog outside the executive mansion in Albany Saturday morning
Cuomo has been holed up in the mansion all week since the damning report from the AG's office found he sexually harassed multiple women
Cuomo was deep in conversation on his cellphone as he continued to cling to power Saturday
Cuomo takes his pet dog for a walk. The executive mansion where he has been in hiding is the location of the alleged groping incident
The governor continues to deny the allegations with his legal team holding a press conference Friday trying to discredit the alleged victims
'It's a very tough time and it's a lot of stress and pressure on the victims,' he said.
The sheriff would not reveal if there are any additional allegations in the complaint to those already known but said the details in the complaint took place in Albany - where the governor's executive mansion is based.
'I cannot get into the nature of her specific allegations. We are in the very infant stage of the investigation,' he said.
Apple said he 'commended' the woman for coming forward as he said the investigation was 'involving criminal conduct' and referred to the woman as 'a victim' multiple times.
'I commend her bravery in coming forward and now it's time for us to begin our investigation,' he said.
'Our investigation is involving criminal conduct. I believe the attorney general's investigation was steered toward a civil investigation.'
When asked if he feared his department will be retaliated against by the governor for launching an investigation, the sheriff brushed off the idea.
'Look, I'm the county sheriff. I'm not going to be intimidated. I'm not going to be coerced,' he said.
Apple said he 'commended' the woman for coming forward as he said the investigation was 'involving criminal conduct' and referred to the woman as 'a victim' multiple times
The identity of the alleged victim has not been released although Apple said it was likely her name will be revealed over time during the criminal justice process.
Fabien Levy, press secretary and senior advisor at James' office, released a statement following the briefing.
'We will cooperate fully with the Albany sheriff and turn over all evidence related to this complainant,' said Levy.
'Similarly, we will cooperate with all law enforcement agencies, as appropriate.'
Apple had confirmed Friday that 'Executive Assistant #1' had filed a criminal complaint against the governor.
'The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest,' he told the New York Post.
The sheriff's office has been in touch with the Albany County District Attorney's office following the criminal complaint being lodged, he said.
The Cuomo aide who filed the police report has leveled one of the most damning accusations against the governor among all allegations brought by multiple women in recent months - an allegation that was upheld in James' report.
The executive assistant accused Cuomo of reaching under her shirt and fondling her breast when they were alone together at the Executive Mansion on November 16 2020.
She told investigators on James' team she was 'in such shock' as he 'cupped my breast' during the encounter.
For over three months, the woman then kept the alleged groping incident to herself and planned to take it 'to the grave,' says James' report.
But she then 'found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the Executive Chamber) while watching the Governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that he had never 'touched anyone inappropriately.'
Cuomo released a video responding to the report's findings Tuesday denying sexually harassing anyone
The woman claims Cuomo reached under her shirt and fondling her breast when they were alone together at the Executive Mansion (pictured) on November 16 2020
The aide then confided in colleagues, who then reported her allegations to senior staff in the Executive Chamber, the report says.
The aide also told investigators with the attorney general's office that Cuomo once rubbed her rear end while they were posing together for a photo.
The alleged incident took place on December 31 2019 when Cuomo asked her to take a selfie of them as they worked together inside his office at the Executive Mansion.
As she held up the camera, Cuomo 'moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it' for at least five seconds, the report alleges.
The assistant 'was shaking so much during this interaction' that the photos came out blurry — and Cuomo suggested the two sit down to take one more, the document says.
That photo, showing Cuomo smirking while he sits back on a couch with the aide, is included in the report.
The governor then allegedly told her to send the snap to another aide, Alyssa McGrath - who has also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment - and said 'not to share the photograph with anyone else.'
The woman told investigators she didn't report what had happened because she was 'terrified'.
Protesters gathered outside Cuomo's office Wednesday demanding he resign following the release of the damning investigative report
Cuomo is resisting calls to resign including from former Democrat allies, while the outcome of an impeachment probe is impending'[T]he way he was so firm with [me] that I couldn't show anyone else that photo, I was just terrified that if I shared what was going on that it would somehow get around,' she told investigators.
James' report also says Cuomo repeatedly sexually harassed 'Executive Assistant #1' from late 2019, including subjecting her to 'close and intimate hugs', 'kisses on the cheeks and forehead', 'at least one kiss on the lips' and 'touching her butt'.
He allegedly referred to her and one other assistant as 'mingle mamas' and asked her repeatedly if she would ever cheat on her husband.
The sheriff's office told DailyMail.com it is not currently releasing the criminal complaint due to the ongoing investigation.
The Albany Police Department, the primary law enforcement agency for the city, had been informed of the woman's allegations regarding the encounter at the mansion several months ago and had spoken to her lawyer, but didn't open an investigation at the time because she didn't make a report.
Prosecutors in several New York counties have said they are interested in investigating claims of inappropriate touching by Cuomo, but all had said they needed the women involved in the allegations to make a formal report.
A request for comment was sent to Cuomo's lawyer, Rita Glavin.
Cuomo has denied touching anyone inappropriately.
His lawyers have acknowledged that Cuomo and the woman met together on the day of the alleged encounter in November, but said he never groped her.
Cuomo has also admitted that he and the staffer took the selfie together, but claimed it was her idea because 'he does not like to take selfies.'
The governor's legal team tried to discredit the aide's allegations in a press conference Friday afternoon - from which Cuomo was absent.
Cuomo's lawyer Rita Glavin said the groping allegation was fabricated.
'He is 63 years old. He has spent 40 years in public life and for him to all of the sudden be accused of a sexual assault of an executive assistant that he really doesn't know, doesn't pass muster,' Glavin said.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks at a news conference Tuesday announcing her investigation found he sexually harassed multiple womenCalls for Cuomo's resignation or impeachment soared this week after James' investigation concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women, including nine state employees.
Some of those allegations were not previously known, including accusations that he harassed a state trooper on a number of occasions, including one incident where he ran his hand across her stomach from her belly button to her right hip while she was holding the door open for him at an event.
Investigators corroborated numerous allegations from multiple women ranging from inappropriate comments to forced kisses and groping, the report found.
Cuomo also retaliated against one of his accusers, the 165-page report found.
When Lindsey Boylan, a former state economic development official, became the first woman to come forward with allegations against Cuomo in December, the governor's office leaked her personnel record in an apparent attempt to discredit her.
James said the governor violated state and federal law through his actions.
Senior Democrats including Joe Biden Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chuck Schumer have all urged Cuomo to resign.
State lawmakers are now moving toward a likely impeachment proceeding over the allegations.
Lawyers working for the state Assembly sent a letter to Cuomo Thursday giving him until August 13 to respond to the allegations against him or provide documents to bolster his defense.
The state Assembly's judiciary committee plans to meet Monday to discuss the possibility of impeachment proceedings.
A majority of members of the legislative body have already said they favor an impeachment trial if he won't resign.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would replace Cuomo if he is impeached or resigns first.
The ELEVEN women from NY Attorney General's sex-pest report on Cuomo
State Trooper #1
Cuomo is accused of sexually harassed a state trooper, referred to in the report as Trooper #1, who he hired onto his protective detail in 2017 - bending the three-year experience requirement.
Although she had only completed two years on the force, the governor reportedly wanted the unnamed trooper in his inner circle.
He is said to have asked a senior member of his security detail to add her to the team even though she did not meet the standard requirement.
'Ha ha, they changed the minimum from 3 years to 2 just for you,' the senior security member told the trooper in an email, which was included in the AG's report.
Once she was on his team, he allegedly harassed her on a number of occasions, including one where he ran his hand across her stomach from her belly button to her right hip while she was holding the door open for him at an event.
'I felt...completely violated because to me...that's between my chest and my privates,' the trooper said, according to Business Insider.
'But, you know, I'm here to do a job.'
He also ran is accused 'running his finger down her back' while they were in an elevator together and saying 'hey you', and kissing her on the cheek in front of another trooper.
'I remember just freezing, being - in the back of my head, I'm like, oh, how do I say no politely because in my head if I said no, he's going to take it out on the detail. And now I'm on the bad list,' the trooper said.
Cuomo also allegedly asked her to help him find a girlfriend and said he wanted someone who 'liked pain', and asked her why she wanted to get married, saying 'your sex drive goes down'.
'Trooper #1 found these interactions with the Governor not only offensive and uncomfortable, but markedly different from the way the Governor interacted with members of the PSU who were men, and she conveyed these incidents contemporaneously to colleagues,' the report reads.
The trooper said she was afraid of being retaliated against if she were to speak out against the behavior.
The State Troopers Police Benevolent Association said in a statement on Tuesday that it was 'dismayed and disturbed' by the findings.
Tom Mungeer, president of the association, said: 'I'm outraged and disgusted that one of my members, who was tasked with guarding the governor and ensuring his safety, could not enjoy the same sense of security in her work environment that he was provided.'
State Entity Employee #2
A doctor says she was sexually harassed while administering a televised COVID-19 test to Cuomo.
The doctor who administered a COVID-19 test to Cuomo she was sexually harassed during the incident.
On May 17, 2020 Cuomo told the medic, in front of cameras 'nice to see you doctor, you make that gown look good'.
The doctor, who appeared in full PPE gear, did not respond to his comment.
Cuomo is accused of sexually harassing the medic while she administered him a COVID-19 test in front of cameras
Cuomo allegedly made comments towards the medic that were sexual in nature. He said: 'Nice to see you doctor, you make that gown look good'The report also claims that before the test, Cuomo asked her not to swab him so hard that it 'hit his brain'.
The report also claims that before the test, Cuomo asked her not to swab him so hard that it 'hit his brain'.
She replied that she'd be 'gentle but accurate' and he said 'I've heard that before,' which the doctor said was 'implied in a sexual nature'.
The medic considered the interaction to be sexual harassment and investigators agreed.
Another unnamed 'state entity employee'
The unidentified employee, identified in the report as 'State Entity Employee #1,' said she attended an event with Cuomo in September 2019.
After giving a speech, Cuomo is said to have posed for pictures with her. While the picture was being taken, he 'grabbed her butt'.
'The employee was shocked and discussed it with a number of friends, family and co-workers,' the report says.
She also 'memorialized the Governor's inappropriate touching' contemporaneously, but the report doesn't say how.
'Executive Assistant One'
Cuomo is accused of groping an executive assistant, whose identity remains anonymous, at an event last November after routinely engaging in a pattern of impropriate conduct that began in late 2019.
The report includes photos of Cuomo with a woman described as 'executive assistant one'
The report says Cuomo repeatedly sexually harassed 'Executive Assistant One' when she worked for him by subjecting her to 'close and intimate hugs', 'kisses on the cheeks and forehead', 'at least one kiss on the lips' and 'touching her butt'.
He allegedly referred to her and one other assistant as 'mingle mamas' and asked her repeatedly if she would ever cheat on her husband.
On December 31, 2019, Cuomo asked her to take a selfies of them as they worked together inside his office at the Executive Mansion.
As she held up the camera, Cuomo 'moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it' for at least five seconds, the report alleges.
The assistant 'was shaking so much during this interaction' that the photos came out blurry — and Cuomo suggested the two sit down to take one more, the document says.
That photo, showing Cuomo smirking while he sits back on a couch with the aide, is included in the report.
The governor then allegedly told her to send the snap to another aide, Alyssa McGrath - who has also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment - and said 'not to share the photograph with anyone else.'
The woman said she didn't report what happened because she was terrified.
'[T]he way he was so firm with [me] that I couldn't show anyone else that photo, I was just terrified that if I shared what was going on that it would somehow get around,' she told investigators.
Cuomo admitted that he and the staffer took a photo together, but said it was her idea, because 'he does not like to take selfies.'
In November 2020, he allegedly groped her breast at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
'For over three months, Executive Assistant #1 kept this groping incident to herself and planned to take it 'to the grave,' but found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the Executive Chamber) while watching the Governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that he had never 'touched anyone inappropriately.'
She then confided in certain of her colleagues, who in turn reported her allegations to senior staff in the Executive Chamber, the report says.
Cuomo, in a defiant address after the report was published, presented a montage of photos of him being tactile with people such as Bill Clinton, his mother and Robert De Niro. He used the photo show to claim he was never abusive, but merely someone who frequently hugged and touched people
Cuomo, who served as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton administration, is seen above planting a kiss on the cheek of former Vice President Al Gore
Cuomo's montage included another image of him planting a kiss on his mother's forehead
Cuomo included a photo above showing the governor grabbing a young boy's face
The assistant was summoned to the mansion under the pretext of having to assist Cuomo with a technical issue involving his phone, the Times Union reported in March.
The two were alone together on the second floor of the residence when Cuomo allegedly closed the door, reached under the woman's blouse and began to fondle her.
'You're going to get us in trouble,' the woman said she told Cuomo, who replied, 'I don't care,' according to the report.
His demeanor 'wasn't like 'ha ha,' it was like, 'I don't care.' . . . It was like in this - at that moment he was sexually driven. I could tell and the way he said it, I could tell,' the woman testified.
The governor then 'slid his hand up her blouse, and grabbed her breast, cupping her breast over her bra,' the report alleges.
A source familiar with the incident told the newspaper that the victim had asked Cuomo to stop.
This was allegedly the only time he touched her; all other instances involved flirtatious behavior.
Lindsey Boylan
Boylan, who was the first accuser to speak out publicly, said that Cuomo made inappropriate remarks to her when she worked as chief of staff to the CEO of the Empire State Development Corporation.
Boylan is seen in Washington Square Park in Manhattan on March 20 at a rally demanding Cuomo resign
Cuomo said that he found her attractive and that he wanted to play strip poker.
She also said that he physically touched her on various parts of her body, including her waist, legs, and back.
She claimed that once she reported her allegations, she was victimized by his team who ran a smear campaign against her while she ran for office.
The alleged harassment took place between 2015 and 2018.
Reports released earlier this year revealed that Cuomo's top aide tried to discredit Boylan and allegedly called at least six former employees looking for dirt on her.
Lindsey Boylan was the first accuser to speak out publicly against Cuomo. She says he made inappropriate comments towards her and physically touched her on various parts of her body
Charlotte Bennett
Bennett worked briefly for Cuomo as an aide. She was a health policy adviser in the New York governor's administration, hired in the spring of 2019 and swiftly promoted to senior briefer and executive assistant only a few months later.
AG Letitia James says her allegations that Cuomo harassed her with a series of comments are corroborated.
Among his alleged remarks are questions about if she'd date older men, asking her help to find a girlfriend, and apparently quizzing her on a sexual assault she had endured.
Charlotte Bennett, who worked for Cuomo last year, told CBS News she felt 'vindicated' by the report
Charlotte Bennett worked briefly as a an aide for Cuomo. He allegedly asked her questions about if she'd date older men, asking her help to find a girlfriend, and apparently quizzing her on a sexual assault she had endured
One of the other comments that he made was that he wanted to ride into the mountains with women.
Bennett had a friendly relationship with Cuomo due to their mutual ties to Westchester County, and saw him as a mentor.
Charlotte Bennett made notes about her experience working with Cuomo which she gave to investigators
In an interview earlier this year, Bennett said her first awkward conversation with Cuomo occurred on May 15, 2020.
The report included text messages between Charlotte Bennett and another aide, and conversations she had with her parents where she had she had a 'great conversation' with the 'Governor', and others where she says he made her feel uncomfortable.
'The governor invited me to lift weights with him,' she wrote in one message. 'He challenged me to a push-up competition'.
She had told her parents how he was surprised to learn that she lifted weights and boxed, and that he had asked her to do push-ups in the office.
In another text chain she said Cuomo 'talked about age difference in relationships,' calling his comments 'explicit'.
Charlotte Bennett saw Cuomo as a mentor, but she says he was clear he wanted more
The report also included messages in which Bennett tells a confidant that she was incredibly uncomfortable following an interaction in the office. Bennett said she was 'shaking' and 'so upset and so confused'.
In texts to another aide, Bennett said Cuomo repeated to her 'over and over' that she had been 'raped'.
Cuomo was also recorded singing the popular 1960s love song Do You Love Me?, by the Contours, to Bennett during a phone call in 2019.
According to the New York Post, Bennett initiated the phone call saying, 'Hi, governor. This is Charlotte'.
Cuomo allegedly answered the call with 'Are you ready? Doo, doo, doo,' and proceeded to ask her if she was familiar with the song.
Bennett told him the song was 'before her time'.
Cuomo allegedly continued singing, 'Do you love me? Do you really love me? Do you love me? Do you care?' Virginia Limmiatis
Virginia Limmiatis worked for National Grid and was wearing a t-shirt with the company's name written across her chest when she says she met Cuomo.
Virginia Limmiatis worked for the National Grid when Cuomo allegedly groped her
He ran his 'two fingers across her chest, pressing down on each of the letters as he did so and reading out the name of the company as he went'.
The report says he then 'leaned in, with his face close to her cheek, and said 'I'm going to say I see a spider on your shoulder' before brushing the area between her shoulder and her breasts'.
'Ms. Limmiatis came forward in this investigation after she heard the governor state, during the March 3, 2021 press conference, that he had never touched anyone inappropriately.
'As Ms. Limmiatis testified to us, 'He is lying again. He touched me inappropriately. I am compelled to come forward to tell the truth... I didn't know how to report what he did to me at the time and was burdened by shame, but not coming forward now would make me complicit in his lie, and I won't do it.''
Alyssa McGrath
McGrath, 35, was the first current employee to accuse Cuomo, and works as an executive assistant.
'In his interactions with another executive assistant, Alyssa McGrath, the Governor made inappropriate comments and engaged in harassing conduct, including: regularly asking about her personal life, including her marital status and divorce; asking whether Ms. McGrath would tell on Executive Assistant #1 if she were to cheat on her husband - and whether Ms. McGrath herself planned to 'mingle' with men'.
She also claimed he looked down her shirt to compliment her on her necklace, told her that she's beautiful in Italian and kissed her on the forehead during an office Christmas party in 2019.
Alyssa McGrath was quizzed by Cuomo about her marital status and divorce and kissed on the forehead by Cuomo at an office Christmas party
Her attorney, Mariann Wang, said on Tuesday that McGrath and another accuser she represents, Virginia Limmiatis, were relieved.
The two women 'feel profoundly grateful to the AG's team for taking this seriously and examining their reports thoroughly and carefully.'
Wang continued: 'Cuomo's misogyny and abuse cannot be denied. He has been doing this for years, without any repercussions.
'He should not be in charge of our government and should not be in any position of power over anyone else.'
'Kaitlin'
Kaitlin - whose second name is not public - met the governor in 2016 at a fundraising event where they were photographed together in a dance pose.
Afterwards, she was hired by him in a junior position but given a salary of $120,000 - a figure so high she says it was laughed at in her interview.
Ana Liss
Liss, 35, worked in the Executive Chamber between 2013 and 2015, during which time she says the governor subjected her to sexual harassment that included being called 'sweetheart' and 'darling', and placing his hand around her lower waist.
Ana Liss (pictured) worked in the Executive Chamber between 2013 and 2015, during which time she says the governor subjected her to sexual harassment that included being called 'sweetheart' and 'darling', and placing his hand around her lower waist
He also kissed her hands and cheek, she said.
Despite feeling uncomfortable, she says she did not report them because 'for whatever reason, in his office the rules were different.'
She added: 'It was just, you should view it as a compliment if the Governor finds you aesthetically pleasing enough, if he finds you interesting enough to ask questions like that.
'And so even though it was strange and uncomfortable and technically not permissible in a typical workplace environment, I was in this mindset that it was the twilight zone and...the typical rules did not apply.'
Anna Ruch
Ruch was a guest at a wedding, as was the governor, in 2019 when she says he put his hands on a section of her back that was exposed by a cut-out in her dress.
She grabbed his wrist to move it away and he responded by saying 'wow, you're aggressive,' according to the report.
Cuomo then grabbed her face with both of his hands and said 'can I kiss you?'
He was pictured kissing her cheek.
Anna Ruch was a guest at a wedding, as was Cuomo, in 2019. She says he put his hands on a section of her back that was exposed by a cut-out in her dress
Karen Hinton
Karen Hinton, 62, spoke to the Washington Post about an incident in which Cuomo summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000.
She was not among the 11 women on who the attorney general based her report.
Hinton said that she tried to pull away from Cuomo, but that he pulled her back and held her before she backed away and escaped the room.
Peter Ajemian, Cuomo's director of communications, told the Post that Hinton is a 'known antagonist of the Governor's who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made up allegations from 21 years ago'.
'All women have the right to come forward and tell their story — however, it's also the responsibility of the press to consider self-motivation. This is reckless,' he added.
Karen Hinton, 62, (pictured above) claims the governor summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000 before she managed to escape
In response, Hinton told the Post that 'attacking the accuser is the classic playbook of powerful men trying to protect themselves' as she said that watching Cuomo's apologetic press conference 'drove me crazy'.
'I really thought the flirt wasn't about having sex,' Hinton said. 'It was about controlling the relationship.'
At the time of the alleged encounter in the hotel room, Cuomo would have been leading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Hinton was a consultant after moving to California.
The Post reports that Hinton and Cuomo have a contentious past and that they had a major blow up before she left the agency in 1999, remaining on as a consultant.
She had joined Cuomo in Los Angeles to promote a HUD program and later had dinner in his hotel before allegedly receiving a phone call from him stating: 'Why don't you come to my room and let's catch up?'
Hinton said that she began to think it was unusual when Cuomo asked her to avoid being seen by Clarence Day, his longtime head of security, but that she continued to his room anyway.
'I paused for a second,' she told the Post about noticing the low lights in the room. 'Why are the lights so low? He never keeps the lights this low.'
Hinton said they sat on opposite couches and talked about their work at HUD and that Cuomo asked her personal questions about her life and marriage - including if she would leave her husband.
She claims that she grew self-conscious after speaking so much about herself and went to leave.
'I stand up and say, 'It's getting late, I need to go,' ' she said, describing the embrace Cuomo gave her as 'very long, too long, too tight, too intimate'.
'He pulls me back for another intimate embrace,' she said. 'I thought at that moment it could lead to a kiss, it could lead to other things, so I just pull away again, and I leave.'
Hinton told the Post that she viewed the move as a 'power play' for 'manipulation and control' and that the pair never discussed the incident again, although they have remained in touch.
She has both publicly praised Cuomo and been critical of him, especially when working as press secretary in 2015 and 2016 for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom the governor has an intense rivalry.
The Post spoke to two people who confirmed that Hinton had told them about the hotel incident after it happened.
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