New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) signature attested that he had completed a mandatory sexual harassment training course in 2019 with one problem — the signature wasn’t his.
Instead, Cuomo’s staff director Stephanie Benton admitted to having forged the Democrat’s signature, according to the report released on Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office.
The allegedly forged document, first obtained by ABC News 10, shows the governor’s name printed after the attestation form states: “I hereby attest that I have completed the following mandatory training courses.”
“A review of the signature on the attestation form shows that the signature looks different from the Governor’s signature on official documents,” James’ report noted in a footnote.
This report by James concluded that the governor sexually harassed 11 women and “created a hostile work environment for women.”
However, both Benton and Cuomo testified that the governor did, in fact, complete the sexual harassment training in 2019.
Testimony from Charlotte Bennett raises questions as to whether he really did complete the training, as Bennett recalled Benton saying she had to complete the training on behalf of the governor, according to the report.
“In 2019, he did not take the sexual harassment training,” Bennett told CBS News in March. “I was there. I heard the office director say, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this for you’ and making a joke about the fact that she was completing the training for him. And then I heard her at the end ask him to sign the certificate.”
Even if Cuomo did participate in the training, he clearly didn’t follow the sexual harassment guidelines per the AG report.
Though Cuomo still denies the allegations, New York Democrats and President Joe Biden himself have called on the governor to resign.