Ana Liss, Former Cuomo Aide Who Described 'Toxic' Work Environment, Meeting With Investigators
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Investigators looking into the sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hear testimony Thursday from a former aide who accuses him of fostering a hostile work environment.
As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer reports, Cuomo tried to "steal" the spotlight with a "fast ball over home plate" press conference with two legendary New York pitchers — CC Sabathia an Al Leiter.
But for investigators probing sexual harassment charges against the governor, the spotlight will be on Ana Liss.
"I was a young, vulnerable woman in what felt like a cesspit of toxicity," Liss previously said.
She was expected to speak with investigators hired by state Attorney General Letitia James by Zoom. They have asked her to block out three hours.
Liss, a policy aide in the Cuomo administration nearly a decade ago, is one of seven women who have charged the governor with sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.
In addition to questions about a hostile work environment, she is expected to be asked about efforts by Team Cuomo to control public disclosures about his behavior. She says they contacted her after the governor's first accuser, Lindsey Boylan, went public with tweets last December.
"Two days after she posted the tweet... I got a phone call from Rich Azzopardi who is a senior advisor to the governor and a spokesperson," Liss previously said. "'I have a kind of awkward question to ask you. Has Lindsey Boylan reached out to you? Have you spoken to her?' and I said, 'no.'"
"I remember thinking 'How many other people is he calling?'" she added.
There are also reports that despite probes by the attorney general and the state Assembly, the Cuomo administration is conducting its own "parallel review" of an unidentified female aide's account of being groped by the governor in his private residence at the executive mansion.
In another development, the former U.S. attorney in New Jersey and a woman who worked for Cuomo when he was the attorney general have been hired by the Cuomo administration to represent people who work in the executive chamber.