Was Andrew Cuomo obsessed with 'large size of his hands'? NY governor asked female staff what it 'indicated'
As Andrew Cuomo faces calls for his resignation because of the many sexual harassment claims against him, new emerging details shed new light about the New York Governor's obsessions. A former aide to Cuomo, Charlotte Bennett reportedly told independent investigators about his alleged "preoccupation with his hand size" and what "the large size of his hands indicated", according to her lawyer, Debra Katz.
Katz, speaking to the press, said that Bennett spoke with lawyers hired by Attorney General Letitia James' office for more than four hours by Zoom on Monday, March 15, where she mentioned Cuomo's obsession with "his hand size." She also revealed that 25-year-old Bennett had turned over more than 120 pages of "contemporaneous records, as well as other examples of documentary evidence" against the 63-year-old governor and his staff.
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In a prepared statement, Katz said Bennett "also provided detailed information about the sexually hostile work environment the Governor fostered in both his Manhattan and Albany offices and his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tension among female staffers on whom he bestowed attention," adding, "One piece of new information that came to light today was the Governor’s preoccupation with his hand size and what the large size of his hands indicated to Charlotte and other members of his staff."
She also said that it is "imperative" that the focus of the probe be not only on Cuomo’s conduct toward women, "but also on the culture of fear, abuse and secrecy that he and his most senior staff cultivated."
"To that end, we have full confidence in the investigation and the investigators. We urge others who have been subjected to inappropriate conduct by the Governor - and we know you are out there - to come forward with what you experienced,” Katz continued. "And to those who observed the behavior, we urge you to do the same," she added.
Without elaborating on the matter, Katz said, "The investigators have been moving quickly, and with sensitivity, to get to the heart of these allegations. We remain confident that their investigation will substantiate Charlotte's claims of sexual harassment against Governor Cuomo, as well as the failure of his senior staff to meet their mandatory reporting requirements under the very laws he signed."
In a shocking interview with the New York Times last month, Bennett had alleged that the Democratic lawmaker had asked her multiple questions about her sex life and relationships in June 2020, when the two were alone in his office. His other questions to her centered around whether she had ever slept with an older man and whether she was romantically involved with other staff members. At the time, Bennett was working with him as an executive assistant and health policy advisor.
When recalling an incident from June 2020 in which Cuomo complained of being lonely, Bennett recalled him asking her, "Who did I last hug?" Bennett in her testimony said that she "understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared." On the other hand, Cuomo has said he never made advances toward Bennett, or behave inappropriately with other women.
He has also repeatedly refused to resign, saying, "People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth. Let the review proceed. I'm not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians; I was elected by the people." Apart from the sexual harassment allegations, Cuomo is also under fire for concealing nursing home deaths in the earlier stages of COVID-19 pandemic.