NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement Sunday evening responding to allegations of sexual harassment, saying he was “truly sorry” if anything he said was “misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation” and that he never “inappropriately touched anybody” and “never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
“I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm,” Cuomo said in the statement amid mounting criticism from within his own party. (His full statement is below).
“At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good natured way,” the governor said. “I do it in public and in private. You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times. I have teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.”
“I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended,” the governor said. “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.”
After some hesitation Sunday, Cuomo said he would grant a referral, allowing state Attorney General Letitia James the power to investigate the accusations.
As Cuomo released the statement, the governor's special counsel, Beth Garvey, said the governor would back a plan to appoint an outside lawyer as a special independent deputy attorney general.
"The Governor's office has asked Attorney General Tish James to select a qualified private lawyer to do an independent review of allegations of sexual harassment," Garvey said.
“This is not a responsibility we take lightly,” James said in response Sunday evening, noting that she expected to be granted full subpoena power. “We will hire a law firm, deputize them as attorneys of our office, and oversee a rigorous and independent investigation.”
Cuomo ceded control of the investigation after a back-and-forth with the attorney general's office. Over several hours, James and other leading party officials rejected two proposals by the governor that they said could potentially have limited the independence of the investigation.
Under his first plan, announced Saturday evening, a retired federal judge picked by Cuomo, Barbara Jones, would have reviewed his workplace behavior. In the second proposal, announced Sunday morning in an attempt to appease legislative leaders, Cuomo asked James and the state’s chief appeals court judge, Janet DiFiore, to jointly appoint a lawyer to investigate the claims and issue a public report.
James said neither plan went far enough.
“I do not accept the governor’s proposal,” she said. “The state’s Executive Law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral. While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law. The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.”
Many of the biggest names in New York politics lined up quickly behind James. The state legislature's two top leaders, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, both said they wanted her to handle the investigation. New York's two U.S. senators, Charles Schumer and and Kirsten Gillibrand, both said an independent investigation was essential.
The calls for an investigation into Cuomo's workplace behavior intensified after a second former employee of his administration went public Saturday with claims she had been harassed.
Charlotte Bennett, a low-level aide in the governor’s administration until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men, and made other comments she interpreted as gauging her interest in an affair.
Read Cuomo’s full statement responding to the allegations:
Questions have been raised about some of my past interactions with people in the office.
I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm. I spend most of my life at work and colleagues are often also personal friends.
At work sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny. I do, on occasion, tease people in what I think is a good natured way. I do it in public and in private. You have seen me do it at briefings hundreds of times. I have teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married. I mean no offense and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business.
I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended. I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.
To be clear I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to.
That's why I have asked for an outside, independent review that looks at these allegations.
Separately, my office has heard anecdotally that some people have reached out to Ms. Bennett to express displeasure about her coming forward. My message to anyone doing that is you have misjudged what matters to me and my administration and you should stop now - period."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.