Two more women contacted AG’s Office with allegations against Gov. Cuomo
Two more women approached the state Attorney General’s Office with allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Attorney General Letitia James released her sexual harassment report against him last week, The Post has learned.
But the women were told the AG’s investigation was officially over and were referred to local law enforcement authorities, a source familiar with the matter said.
It’s unclear who the women are, what they allege Cuomo did to them or where and when the alleged incidents took place.
James wasn’t even briefed on their allegations, the source said.
The report accused Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 women, nine of whom are current or former state employees.
They include Brittany Commisso, 32, who in an interview broadcast Monday on “CBS This Morning” said Cuomo, 63, groped her breast in the Executive Mansion last year and also grabbed her butt while they were taking selfies.
Commisso also described having being hugged by Cuomo, saying, “These were not hugs he would give his mother or his brother. These are hugs with the intention of getting some personal sexual satisfaction out of it.”
Commisso filed a complaint last week with the Albany County Sheriff’s Department, leading Sheriff Craig Apple to say Saturday that Cuomo could face “a couple” of misdemeanor charges.
Albany District Attorney David Soares had earlier said he was launching an investigation based on James’ report, which he said had “led myself and other prosecutors with concurrent jurisdiction to believe that criminal activity in fact had taken place.”
State law makes it a misdemeanor to commit “forcible touching,” which involves touching someone’s “sexual or other intimate parts” to degrade or abuse the person or to gratify the perpetrator’s “sexual desire.”
Four other DAs — in Manhattan, as well as Nassau, Westchester and Oswego counties — also said they were investigating alleged incidents detailed in the report.
The Nassau DA’s Office said it hadn’t heard from any accusers not mentioned in James’ report. The other prosecutors’ offices didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
Cuomo has been in hiding since James released her report on Tuesday but he released a pre-recorded video statement in which he denied having ever “touched anyone inappropriately” and suggested James’ investigation was politically motivated.
His personal defense lawyer, former US Justice Department official Rita Glavin, has also attacked the credibility of some of his accusers, saying of Commisso, “This woman’s story, as stated as fact in the report, is false.”
James’s office declined to comment and Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately return an inquiry.
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile