PILING UP

More Former Aides Accuse Gov. Andrew Cuomo of Toxic Behavior

Accusations dropped in the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal on Saturday evening.

Multiple reports dropped Saturday evening about a workplace culture cultivated by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo that former aides say was degrading to women. Karen Hinton, a former press aide, told The Washington Post Cuomo called her to his hotel room after a work event in 2000 and gave her an uncomfortably long hug. Cuomo’s office outright denied the encounter with Hinton occurred in a statement: “This did not happen. Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor’s.” Multiple aides told the Post that Cuomo often humiliated them at work, calling male aides “pussies” or telling them “you have no balls” and questioning female aides about their dating lives.

Ana Liss, a former policy and operations aide, told The Wall Street Journal that Cuomo asked her if she had a boyfriend, touched her lower back during a reception, kissed her hand, and called her a sweetheart. She felt the behavior was “inappropriate in any setting” and reduced her to “just a skirt.” She is the third aide to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, in addition to former aides Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett. Cuomo has denied allegations of misconduct but said Wednesday, “I understand that sensitivities have changed and behavior has changed, and I get it. And I’m going to learn from it.”