Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s personal lawyer kept up her attack on the credibility of some of his sexual harassment accusers Saturday, but admitted one reported instance may have been true.
“The governor may have very well touched the state trooper’s back,” Rita Glavin said during an interview Saturday night with Pamela Brown on CNN. “And she may have understood it one way and he understood it another way.”
The unidentified trooper, a member of the governor’s protective detail, told investigators the incident happened when Cuomo was standing behind her in an elevator, ran his finger down the middle of her back and said to her “Hey, you.”
She also said he ran his open hand over her abdomen as he held a door open for him, according to a report released Tuesday by Attorney General Letitia James.
She told investigators the latter incident left her feeling “completely violated.”
Glavin said she did not believe the incidents as described in James’ report were criminal conduct.
Cuomo would address the trooper’s allegation personally “very, very soon,” the lawyer said.
Glavin’s comments echoed what she said in a Friday press conference, calling James’ report inaccurate and disputing the account of some of the 11 women mentioned in the report.
“I believe that Lindsey Boylan is lying,” Glavin said about the former state worker who claims Cuomo made inappropriate comments to her and kissed her on the lips.
Another woman, identified as “Executive Assistant 1,” said Cuomo grabbed her breast under her blouse while she was at the Executive Mansion. She filed a criminal complaint against him Thursday.
“He did not grope her,” Glavin said.
Glavin admitted the governor does “slip” at times. Asked what that meant, Glavin said he will call people “darling” and “sweetheart” and ask about their personal lives. She also called him a hugger, which she said was not always welcome.
“People feel uncomfortable,” she said. “You can’t go around hugging and kissing everybody.”
