Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo subpoenas records, testimony in sexual harassment civil case
Andrew M. Cuomo at a July 2021 news conference, when he was still governor. Credit: NDZ/STAR MAX/IPx
ALBANY — Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has subpoenaed correspondence, documents and depositions of some of the women who accused him of sexual harassment, according to a Cuomo spokesman.
Cuomo is defending himself in a civil suit brought by one of the women, identified as Trooper No. 1 in a report by state Attorney General Letitia James. James' report concluded that Cuomo had engaged in a series of sexual harassment incidents while governor, most often with women on his staff. That report led to Cuomo’s resignation in 2021.
Cuomo, a Democrat, has denied sexually harassing anyone and said he is a victim of “cancel culture.” He has made several appearances at predominantly Black churches in recent months as he tries to change his public image after his resignation.
According to James’ report, Cuomo asked Trooper No. 1 if he could kiss her and in separate incidents touched her back and belly while she was part of his special protection unit in the state police. Trooper No. 1 said the governor, who was in his early 60s and single at the time, started flirting almost immediately when she joined his security detail.
Cuomo subpoenaed five of the 11 women who made statements to James. The subpoenas, which were sent in March and April, are part of the standard discovery process before trial. They seek correspondence between the women and state investigators and reporters.
Trooper No. 1's lawsuit stems from her testimony to the state attorney general’s office investigators.
The trooper described being in an elevator with Cuomo, headed to his 34th-floor office in Manhattan, in 2018.
“He runs his finger down the center of … my back on my spine, basically from the top of my neck, to basically midway down with his pointer finger," she recalled. He then said: ‘Hey, you.’ So I turned around and said, 'Oh, hey, how are you, sir?' And that was basically it. I kind of was like freaked out.”
On Sept. 23, 2019, at Belmont Park for a New York Islanders event, she said he harassed her again as he passed by as she held a door open for him.
“He takes his left hand and basically, like thumb facing down, I felt the palm of his hand in the center of my stomach on my belly button and like pushes back toward my right hip, where my gun is," she said.
She said Cuomo also asked her if he could kiss her on the cheek on at least two occasions when both were working.
Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.
