Cuomo Won’t Face Charges Over Harassment, Westchester D.A. Says
Cuomo Won’t Face Charges Over Harassment, Westchester D.A. Says
(Bloomberg) -- Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment of two women in Westchester County did not amount to criminal violations, the local district attorney said in the second such announcement in less than a week.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah on Tuesday said her office investigated the allegations and found “credible evidence” that Cuomo inappropriately touched two women, including a state trooper on his security detail. But she said his conduct was not criminal.
“In both instances, my office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York,” Rocah said in a statement.
Rocah’s investigation was one of several probes triggered by a damning report into Cuomo’s conduct with women released in August by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Cuomo resigned amid the uproar following the report but continues to deny wrongdoing. He has claimed the report was driven by the political ambitions of James, who announced but then withdrew her candidacy for governor.
The report detailed 11 instances of harassment that James said violated state and federal law, two of which allegedly took place in Westchester County. According to report, Cuomo pressured the trooper into letting him kiss her and, during an event at a local high school, grabbed another woman’s arm, pulled her toward him and “kissed her on the cheek” without permission.
Last week, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith concluded that Cuomo’s alleged harassment of the same trooper at a Long Island race track also did not amount to a crime.
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