Read the Sexual Harassment Report on Andrew Cuomo

her “in a creepy way” from across the room. During one event, the Governor walked up to the staff member to ask about her last name; the staff member told the Governor that she was Italian, to which the Governor responded, “I don’t know what you are, but you’re beautiful.” The staff member felt weird and uncomfortable with the Governor’s attention, but was told by other staff in the Executive Chamber that it was good the Governor liked her. One former employee told us that women had told him that the Governor had made them feel like “prey,” as the Governor’s gaze would linger on them, seemingly taking in their whole bodies, and then he would hold eye contact with the women for longer than expected. Witnesses also observed that the Governor often touched people, more frequently women, and often without permission. While many witnesses observed the Governor regularly touch his constituents or other members of the public at events, including with hugs, kisses on the cheek, and by placing his arms around people’s shoulders or waists during photographs, as he did with a number of the complainants, we found that the Governor’s conduct sometimes went beyond these regular displays of public affection. For example, at a fundraising event on December 9, 2015, the Governor approached a woman, asked to take a picture with her, and then rubbed a tattoo she had on her arm, causing the woman to feel uncomfortable.1063 A former member of the PSU reported that, at a staff holiday party in or around December 2018, before posing for a photograph with the then-current PSU member and his wife, the Governor reached out and physically peeled off the wife’s name tag that was just underneath her breast. After the photograph was taken, the Governor began to walk away, and then turned back to hand the name tag to the former PSU member, saying something to the effect of, “[y]ou might want this—I could get in trouble.” The PSU member said he and his wife both felt that the Governor’s conduct was odd and inappropriate. This type of behavior extended to members of the Executive Chamber outside of large events. Similar to the allegations of some of the complainants detailed above, one staff member noted that the Governor often stopped by her desk to grab and hold her hand as if he were going to shake it, but then continued holding her hand. The staff member became unsettled and flustered during these interactions and often blushed. She felt that her reaction was “part of the point” of the Governor’s behavior. The staff member also noted that, on occasion, the Governor put his arm around her, which made her feel “small” and uncomfortable, even as she tried to maintain a professional demeanor to signal that she was not interested in any flirtatious or other non-professional interactions with the Governor. Other witnesses in addition to the complainants reported to us specific instances in which the Governor made a comment or joke that seemed sexual or suggestive in meetings with Executive Chamber staff. One former staff member recalled hearing the Governor repeatedly make a joke about how the young bull runs down the hill to have sex with one bull and the old bull walks down the hill to have sex with all of them—meaning that it is better to slow down and get a lot of things done. The Governor denied recollection of this. On another occasion, in the spring of 2016, the Governor spotted a bottle on an Executive Assistant’s desk labeled “Skinny Bunny,” with an accompanying image of rabbit ears. After learning the Executive Assistant was drinking Skinny Bunny tea in an attempt to help lose weight in advance of her wedding, the Governor asked the Executive Assistant if she was trying to look like a “Playboy bunny.” Two 1063 See Ex. 105 (photographs of the Governor holding the woman’s arm at the same event in question). 120