Politics

Current Aide Accuses Cuomo of Sexual Harassment: ‘He Was Blatantly Looking Down My Shirt’

ON THE RECORD

Staffer Alyssa McGrath told The New York Times that Cuomo made comments about her appearance and stared at her body.

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Seth Wenig/Getty

A current aide for Andrew Cuomo has gone on the record with sexual harassment claims against the embattled New York governor, accusing him of making unwelcome comments about her appearance and checking out her body. “He has a way of making you feel very comfortable around him, almost like you’re his friend,” Alyssa McGrath told The New York Times. “But then you walk away from the encounter or conversation, in your head going, ‘I can’t believe I just had that interaction with the governor of New York.’” McGrath is the first current aide to go on the record with harassment claims, which include that the governor told her she was beautiful in Italian and once “blatantly” stared down her shirt. When she looked down to where he was staring, Cuomo “made a reference, a subtle reference, saying, ‘What’s on your necklace?’ Which was in my shirt,” McGrath said.

McGrath also said Cuomo told a current aide who has accused the governor of groping her breast not to discuss the allegation with her. “He told her specifically not to tell me,” McGrath told the Times. Cuomo has been accused by more than a half a dozen women of inappropriate behavior and faces mounting calls for his resignation.