Another woman is accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of workplace misconduct, a newspaper reported Tuesday.
The details of the allegations weren’t immediately clear, but the Times Union of Albany reported Tuesday that the woman said Cuomo inappropriately touched her late last year at the governor’s mansion, where she had been summoned to work.
The newspaper didn’t reveal her identity or detail what type of touching was alleged to have taken place. It did not speak to the woman. The paper cited “an official close to the matter” as confirming the existence of the complaint.
NBC New York has not independently verified the claim and the woman remains anonymous.
A supervisor in the governor’s office became aware of the new allegation over the weekend, the newspaper reported. The complaint was then reported to the governor’s legal counsel and to the office of state Attorney General Letitia James, who is overseeing an investigation into Cuomo’s workplace conduct, the newspaper reported.
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When asked about the story of allegedly touching a woman inappropriately at the Executive Mansion in a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Cuomo said: "I am not aware of any other claim. As I said last week, this is very simple: I never touched anyone inappropriately. As I said last week, I never made any inappropriate advances."
Speaking generally about sexual harassment allegations made against him, Cuomo told reporters: “I never touched anyone inappropriately. As I said last week, I never made any inappropriate advances. As I said last week, no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable.”
Cuomo’s special counsel, Beth Garvey, also wouldn’t confirm the existence of the complaint but said in a statement that “all allegations that we learn of directly or indirectly are going promptly to the investigators appointed by the attorney general.”
The attorney general’s office declined to comment.
Before reports of the sixth accuser emerged, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand — who has been a leading voice in the MeToo movement — stopped short of calling for the governor to step down.
"They need to be fully investigated, with subpoena power. That is something the attorney general has already begin to do," Gillibrand said.
Several women who worked in Cuomo’s administration have said they were sexually harassed or subjected to demeaning behavior by the governor.
A former economic development director, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo commented on her looks, summoned her to unnecessary meetings, joked that they should play strip poker and once kissed her on the lips at the end of a meeting.
A onetime aide, Charlotte Bennett, said the governor told her he was looking or a girlfriend, and asked her about her sex life and whether she would be open to a relationship with an older man.
Another former aide, Ana Liss, said Cuomo kissed her on the hand and cheek and made flirtatious comments that didn’t initially bother her, but which she came later to see as patronizing and improper in a work environment.
Cuomo has acknowledged asking people personal questions and teasing them in what he thought of as playful banter, and only later realized was making women uncomfortable.
At Tuesday's press conference, Cuomo was asked what he has told his daughters regarding the claims made against him. The governor has three daughters with his ex-wife Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of the late New York senator and U.S. attorney general Robert Kennedy.
"There are allegations, and then there are allegations. There's a spectrum of allegations. There's capital crimes, there's physical violence, down to more minor violations," Cuomo said. "I told them what I told you. I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never made unwanted advances. And no one ever told me that I made them feel awkward."
Cuomo also refused to answer whether he will seek a fourth term in office, which his father, Mario Cuomo, failed to win after serving three terms of New York's governor.
"Today is not a day for politics," Cuomo said. "I'm focusing on my job."
With an audible edge in his voice, Cuomo said to the reporter who asked whether the allegations were making him reconsider running next year, "You don't know any facts, right? You know allegations. You don't know facts."
"Let's operate on facts," the governor added. "We have an investigation ... let's get the facts and then we can have a discussion on the facts."
The AP contributed to this report.
