Take a Balanced View - Accuser #6

Note:  This post examines publicly available information and defense-raised challenges.

Accuser #6

Alyssa McGrath currently works in the Executive Chamber as an executive assistant, providing administrative assistance to certain assigned staff members of the Executive Chamber, and has been in that role since May 2018. In December 2018, McGrath also assisted the Governor, including by covering phone calls and other executive assistant functions on weekends at the Executive Mansion.

The allegations

Italian word  In early 2019, McGrath was assisting Cuomo at the Executive Mansion by herself when he asked her whether she spoke Italian.  McGrath replied that she did not speak Italian, although she is of Italian heritage.  Cuomo then said a short Italian phrase to McGrath and grinned at her.  McGrath did not recognize the phrase, but when she consulted her parents, who are fluent in Italian, her father told her that Cuomo’s comment had been about how McGrath was beautiful.  McGrath testified that she felt uncomfortable and surprised at learning this, especially given that this had also been one of the first times she had assisted Cuomo at the Executive Mansion by herself.

There is a footnote on the AG report. 

Bella means beautiful in Italian. My grandmother used to call me that.  “I can’t believe he said that.”  Really?  There are a lot worse words she could have been called.

Necklace Incident  Also in early 2019, McGrath was working on a dictation assignment with Cuomo for the first time and was nervous.  McGrath says she was seated slightly bent over her notepad and pen, ready to take dictation from Cuomo, when she noticed he had not spoken for an unusual amount of time. McGrath says when she looked up at him, and saw that he was staring down into McGrath’s shirt, which was a silk-like blouse that was loosely hanging off of her as she was slightly bent forward.  After McGrath looked up and saw that Cuomo had been looking in the area of her chest, he asked her what was on her necklace, which was hanging between McGrath’s breasts and the shirt. McGrath responded that her necklace had a pendant of the Virgin Mary and an Italian horn.  McGrath understood Cuomo’s question about her necklace as confirmation that he in fact had been looking down her shirt, and she felt embarrassed, uncomfortable, and stressed.

Cuomo testified that he did not recall ever looking down McGrath’s shirt, and noted that he believed it was physically impossible to do so from across his desk. He did recall that  McGrath was “very nervous when she came in,” and acknowledged that he may have complimented her on her necklace “to sort of make her feel more at ease.”

My only question is how slightly bent over were you sitting for anyone to see straight down your shirt considering how far away you were?

McGrath’s testimony is corroborated by Executive Assistant #1 (Commisso), her best friend.

Holiday Photo  McGrath also testified that, at the annual holiday party, Cuomo “would intentionally go up to [her and Executive Assistant #1] instead of us going up to him. And he would always want to take a picture with the two of us,” even though “people are all like trying to get to him.” McGrath recalled being “a little surprised that he came up to us out of . . . everyone there.” Photographs of Cuomo with McGrath and Executive Assistant #1 at holiday parties show Cuomo holding both of them tight, with his hands on their sides right under their breasts. In one of the pictures,

“Right under their breasts” is normally called your waist.

On March 19, 2021, the New York Times published an article reporting on “a series of unsettling interactions” that McGrath had with Cuomo.

what was left out

Matt McGrath’s testimony

The AG’s assessment was that based on her demeanor during her testimony, as well as the level of detail and consistency in the substance of her allegations and the corroboration from other individuals and documents, we found Ms. McGrath to be credible.

it was like, “Hey, I’m gonna say some stuff, you might know it’s BS, but can you keep your mouth shut?” And it wasn’t in exact words, that was my interpretation of it, knowing what I know.  Matt McGrath Testimony, p. 27-51

View with an open Mind - Accuser #5

Note:  This post examines publicly available information and defense-raised challenges. 

Accuser #5

Executive Assistant #1’s was responsible for assisting the Governor in managing incoming and outgoing telephone calls, taking dictation, drafting and editing documents, and performing other similar administrative tasks, including at the Executive Mansion on the weekend.

The allegations / what was left out

increasing familiarity and intimacy  The AG report says, “The Governor’s behavior ranged from playful banter about Executive Assistant #1’s potential romantic relationships to looking through Executive Assistant #1’s social media posts and asking about the marital status and social and dating lives of Executive Assistant #1 and her friend, Alyssa McGrath, who also served as an executive assistant in the Executive Chamber.”  However, Cuomo does not use social media.  Even in the Politico article about the lawmakers who were going to “takedown” Cuomo, it was said, “Their strategy was clear:  use the digital space to outmaneuver the governor, a notorious technophobe.”

Take off the hoodie  Executive Assistant #1 was working at the Executive Mansion on a weekend and commented that it was warm in the room.  Cuomo suggested in response that Executive Assistant #1 take off her zip-up hoodie, which she had been wearing on top of a light tank top.  “A colleague of Executive Assistant #1 was present and corroborated the incident.”  Is this mystery colleague Alyssa McGrath?  There is a footnote that states “In her testimony, Ms. McGrath corroborated much of Executive Assistant #1’s sworn testimony. Ms. McGrath’s own allegations regarding Governor Cuomo are detailed later in the Report.”

McGrath and Executive Assistant #1 were close friends since high school and McGrath is listed as Executive Assistant #1 emergency contact at work. It would be nice to know if anyone else could give testimony except her best friend.

Mingle mamas  Cuomo engaged in a conversation about a trip to Florida that the two women planned to take together in April. Cuomo asked McGrath, who was separated from her husband at the time, whether she planned to go and “mingle” with men during the Florida trip. Cuomo then asked McGrath whether she would “tell on” Executive Assistant #1 if Executive Assistant #1 cheated on her husband while in Florida. Cuomo proceeded to refer to both women as “mingle mamas” for the remainder of the day. Cuomo admitted in his testimony that he had called Executive Assistant #1 and McGrath “mingle mamas,” but testified that it was in response to Executive Assistant #1 and McGrath stating that they were “single and ready to mingle.”  No notes that anyone else heard any of this but it’s listed as fact because her best friend vouched for her.

Intimate physical contact-the selfie  Per the AG report, “On December 31, 2019, Executive Assistant #1 was assisting Cuomo in his office at the Executive Mansion when Cuomo asked her to take a “selfie” photograph with him.  Cuomo stood next to Executive Assistant #1, on her left, as she took a selfie with her right hand. As Executive Assistant #1 held up the camera,  Cuomo moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it.  The rubbing lasted at least five seconds.  Executive Assistant #1 was shaking so much during this interaction that her initial selfies with Cuomo were very blurry. At Cuomo’s suggestion, the two of them then sat down and took one more selfie, with Cuomo’s hands around Executive Assistant #1’s waist. Cuomo then told Executive Assistant #1 to send the photograph to McGrath, and directed Executive Assistant #1 not to share the photograph with anyone else.”

How is this absolute proof of her butt being grabbed?  She doesn’t look nervous or terrified.  And McGrath’s response to the picture,

Intimate physical contact-the holiday photo  At the 2019 holiday party, before a photograph was taken, Cuomo kissed McGrath on the forehead and kissed Executive Assistant #1 on the cheek, then posed for a photograph with his hands firmly around both women’s ribcages, just below their breasts.

It’s actually called your waist and that’s usually where a hand goes during a photo.  There is also the manner they are standing in.  Also about the picture is a footnote buried at the bottom of the page.

Intimate physical contact-the incident  “On November 16, 2020, Stephanie Benton, the Director of the Governor’s Offices, asked Executive Assistant #1 to assist Cuomo at the Executive Mansion.  As Executive Assistant #1 finished her assignment and prepared to leave the Governor’s personal office, on the second floor in the Mansion, and return to the Capitol, Cuomo pulled Executive Assistant #1 in for a close hug.  Executive Assistant #1 was conscious that the door to Cuomo’s office (facing out into the hallway on the second floor) was open at the time. Executive Assistant #1 stepped away from Cuomo and said, “You’re going to get us in trouble,” to which Cuomo replied, “I don’t care,” and slammed the door shut. Executive Assistant #1 testified that Cuomo’s demeanor at the time “wasn’t like ‘ha ha,’ it was like, ‘I don’t care.’ . . . It was like in this—at that moment he was sexually driven. I could tell and the way he said it, I could tell.”  Cuomo then returned to Executive Assistant #1 and slid his hand up her blouse, and grabbed her breast, “cupp[ing her] breast” over her bra.”

At McGrath’s birthday party, Executive Assistant #1 confided in Executive Assistant #2 that Cuomo had grabbed her and reached under her shirt. Still upset, Executive Assistant #1 visited Executive Assistant #2’s house the next day with her boyfriend and Executive Assistant #3. There, Executive Assistant #2’s boyfriend, an FBI employee, recommended she speak with a lawyer, whom she later retained. Believing they were required to report what happened, Executive Assistants #2 and #3 informed Judy Mogul, Special Counsel to the Governor and Beth Garvey,  acting counsel for Andrew Cuomo, on March 8, stating Cuomo had touched Executive Assistant #1 and gone under her shirt. They also mistakenly reported that Cuomo pushed her against a wall, which Executive Assistant #1 denied. The call lasted just a few minutes, and Mogul thanked them for coming forward.

On March 9, the Times Union published an article describing the allegations of an anonymous current aide in the Executive Chamber, who was alleging that Cuomo had groped her while at the Executive Mansion. Executive Assistant #1 testified that she had not communicated with the press in advance of the March 9 article about her allegations and that she had been shocked at the publication of the Times Union article.

The public learned that Executive Assistant #1 was Brittany Commisso on August 8, 2021. Excerpts of her interview with CBS News were released on the 8^th and the full interview airing the following morning, August 9, on CBS This Morning.  The Albany Times Union published an exclusive story simultaneously.

The AG report found Executive Assistant #1 to be credible “both in demeanor and in the substance of her allegations.”

What shows up in her testimony but not in the AG report is the confusion over her coat and the lawyers leading her. (breakdown from Justice for Cuomo)

There is also the information that Rita Glavin gave concerning Cuomo’s schedule on the day in question

Also never mentioned or followed up is Commisso told Cuomo in or around November that because she was going through a divorce, she needed a different work schedule. She told him the divorce created financial pressure. She spoke in late 2020 and early 2021 to her supervisors about having to leave early, She asked for a raise and more overtime hours on weekends. They denied the raise and made no other promises. Her husband filed for divorce, and a summons with notice is recorded at Albany County Clerk on February 22, 2021, with Brittany Commisso as the defendant.

  

You need a 360-degree view. Accuser #3 and #4

 Note:  This post examines publicly available information and defense-raised challenges.

 Accuser #3

Below is the About tab of Anna Ruch’s photography website

The allegation

On Saturday, September 14, 2019, Ruch attended the wedding of her friend Alexa Kissinger to Gareth Rhodes, a senior aide to Cuomo.  Cuomo officiated the ceremony.  Shortly after the ceremony ended, one of her friends pointed out that the Governor was approaching them and suggested that they try to take a picture with him.

Ruch said Cuomo put his hand on her lower back and when she removed it with her own hand, he said that she seemed "aggressive" and put his hands on her cheeks.

He then asked to kiss her in a request that was also heard by her friend standing nearby. "I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed," Ruch said, "I turned my head away and didn't have words in that moment."  "I didn't have a choice in his physical dominance over me at that moment. And that's what infuriates me. And even with what I could do, removing his hand from my lower back, even doing that was not clear enough."  "It's the act of impunity that strikes me," she told the paper. "I didn't have a choice in that matter.”

Two days after the interaction with Cuomo, Ruch texted her friend the picture with comments.

On March 1, 2021, The New York Times ran the article “Cuomo Accused of Unwanted Advance at a Wedding.” In it, Ruch described the September 2019 incident.

The assessment of the AG was, “Ms. Ruch was credible both in her demeanor and in the substance of her allegations. Pictures taken as the Governor held Ms. Ruch’s face and kissed her corroborate her general description of what the Governor did.”

What was left out

Ruch was never employed by Cuomo or the State, so sexual harassment law does not apply.  The AG lists her under other complainants.

After the ceremony, Cuomo approached Ruch and friends. One of her friends suggested Ruch should take a picture with him. In a CNN interview, her friend stated that Ruch asked Cuomo for a photo.

Ruch’s accusation set off a torrent of criticism and calls for Cuomo to resign.  New York Rep. Kathleen Rice was the first Democratic US House member to demand that the governor step down.

“The time has come,” Rice tweeted. “The Governor must resign.”

With her statement, Rice joined a small group of other Democratic state lawmakers, including state Sens. Alessandra Biaggi and Gustavo Rivera, and Assemblywoman Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, who have said Cuomo should leave office in the wake of mounting allegations.

However, this was the little group caught on an audio chatroom saying, “how do we make it impossible for our governor to every run again?”

clubhouse-politics-democratic-insurgents-plot-against-cuomo-in-digital-space-1367771

 

Accuser #4

Ana Liss was an Empire State Fellow who worked in the Executive Chamber from September 2013 to September 2015.  She was assigned to work for a senior staff member handling economic development.  In November 2013, Liss was informed that Howard Glaser, then Director of State Operations, wanted her “to go over and work in his office.” Liss moved to Glaser’s office, which was close to the Governor’s office.  She thought her assignment to work with Glaser was a promotion.  She explained that “the Governor had developed a reputation” for championing economic development in upstate New York, where she was from, and she was excited for the opportunity.

Liss testified that she quickly came to feel that Cuomo and his senior staff valued her for her appearance rather than her capabilities.  Liss testified that she understood employees who angered Cuomo faced outbursts from Cuomo and his surrogates, involuntary reassignment, and even termination.  She observed that Cuomo was customarily aggressive and short-tempered with men and flirtatious with women.

Liss testified that upon meeting her, Cuomo held her hand and gazed into her eyes in a manner that Liss felt was simultaneously “grandfatherly” and “somewhat flirtatious.”  She recalled that a longtime aide told her that the Governor liked her, which she interpreted to mean that her “appearance was attractive to the Governor, and that was a good thing for [her] ability to survive and stay there”

On multiple occasions afterwards, Cuomo kissed and touched Liss both in the office and at work parties, including a celebration in May 2014, after the passage of the budget.  On that occasion, Cuomo approached her, kissed her on the cheek, and slipped his hand around her lower waist.  Cuomo beckoned his photographer to take their picture.  Liss produced that photograph from March 2015, which showed Cuomo with his hand around her waist.

Liss said that Cuomo frequently stopped by her office and interacted with her in a playful or flirtatious manner.  On at least one occasion, Cuomo “kissed Liss’s hand and asked her if she had a boyfriend and kissed her cheek.”  Liss testified Cuomo never asked permission to touch her, and his conduct was unwelcome.

Liss testified that Cuomo almost always addressed her as “sweetheart” or “darling,” instead of by her name.   She described this as demeaning.  Liss also noted that Cuomo never spoke with her about work.

Liss left the Executive Chamber in 2015 when her fellowship was completed.  During and after her time there, she had nothing but positive things to say.

On March 6, 2021, Liss gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal accusing Cuomo of inappropriate behavior.  Her reason for coming forward with her experience was, “I spoke up about all of this, I did so by and large because the other young women that had come forward with more egregious allegations weren’t being believed and I believed them and I wanted to share an account that was less egregious and spoke to the broader culture that allowed for the things that happened to them to happen to them. The tolerance for those micro flirtations, I guess, that would allow for him to act a certain way behind closed doors with women in more serious manners.”

The AG’s assessment was, “we found Ms. Liss to be credible in substance and in demeanor. Ms. Liss’s testimony was corroborated in relevant part by photographs and other witnesses.”

The Governor testified that he did not remember Ms. Liss.

The allegations

Eye Candy  The AG’s report states that a former colleague of Liss recalled that he formed the impression that Liss had been moved to sit closer to Cuomo because she was a young, beautiful, blonde woman and that he understood that she was there to be eye candy. Another former colleague said it was widely considered that Liss office had been moved because of her appearance.  Who these former colleagues are and what they said and when are not attached to the AG report to question these individuals.  Also, Liss was moved by Howard Glaser, not Cuomo.

Hand Around her waist  There is a photo of Liss and Cuomo together and he has his hand around her waist.  Where do you put your hand on someone during a picture?  And if this moment from 2014 was traumatic, why did she have it framed and keep it on her desk until at least 2021.

Conduct Unwelcome  Liss found Cuomo’s actions toward her as demeaning and unwelcome.  Why didn’t she tell him?  Why didn’t she tell HR? But she told the Wall Street Journal.

What was left out

In 2023 for the Trooper #1 lawsuit, Liss testified, “I was just thrown into this group of women who said the Governor sexually harassed me, and I wanted to be clear that the Governor didn’t sexually harass me.”

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