New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks from the One World Trade Center Tower while making an announcement in New York City, June 15, 2021.
Mike Segar | Reuters
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s business world allies and major donors did not rush to his defense in the wake of a report by the state Attorney General’s office detailing multiple instances of alleged sexual harassment.
CNBC reached out to many of the governor’s top donors and corporate associates after New York Attorney General Letitia James released independent investigators’ 165-page report saying that at least 11 women were sexually harassed by Cuomo and that his office was an intimidating environment.
Almost all of the donors, allies and advisors contacted refused to comment on the allegations levied against the governor. Nor did they comment on whether they would continue to associate themselves with him as Democratic Party leaders such as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, also a New Yorker, called on him to resign.
One longtime Cuomo advisor didn’t think the support would last much longer. “I think it all crumbles,” the advisor said regarding the governor’s backing in the business community. This person declined to be named due to the private nature of conversations the person had.
The governor is seeking a fourth term. Cuomo’s reelection campaign raised over $2 million in the first half of 2021 from some of New York’s business leaders despite all of the controversy surrounding him.
While Cuomo continues to deny many of the accusations, a potential decline in funds and support from some of the state’s most affluent donors could be fatal to his reelection chances.
Many of these donors have ties to the heads of the party, including Henry Munoz, the former Democratic National Committee finance chair who gave $25,000 to Cuomo in late January. It was announced in 2020 that Munoz was joining then candidate Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. A DNC spokesman and Munoz did not return requests for comment.
Biden is expected to address the report against Cuomo on Tuesday after White House press secretary Jen Psaki called the allegations “abhorrent.”
“I don’t know that anyone could have watched [James’ press conference] this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent— I know I certainly did,” said Psaki.
One Wall Street executive, who was recently on a private call with Cuomo and business leaders about removing the cap on New York’s state and local tax deduction, told CNBC in a text message that the report was “not great.” Yet this person said “yes” when asked whether the person would continue to support Cuomo after James’ report.
This person did not explain why and declined to be named in order to avoid retribution.
Barry Diller, the founder of media behemoth IAC, gave over $22,000 to the Cuomo’s reelection campaign in January. When asked for comment, a spokeswoman for IAC told CNBC that Diller was “unable to participate in the story.”
Dennis Mehiel, a longtime New York businessman who has been close to Cuomo and President Joe Biden for years, said hours before this story’s publication Tuesday that he “hadn’t seen” the report and would review it and then respond. CNBC did not hear back from Mehiel. Mehiel contributed $12,500 to Cuomo’s campaign in June.
Susanne Durst, the wife of real estate titan Douglas Durst, gave $10,000 to Cuomo in June. After asking whether Durst would continue to back Cuomo, a spokesman replied: “We don’t discuss political contributions.”
Others told CNBC they were too busy to talk about the governor and did not return follow-up requests for comment.
John Catsimatidis, a billionaire and founder of the Gristedes grocery chain, previously told CNBC that he wanted to wait to see what investigations revealed before he made his decision on Cuomo. He said around noon ET on Tuesday that he was at lunch and would return calls afterward. By the time CNBC had published this story, Catismatidis hadn’t responded to requests for comment. He contributed $25,000 to Cuomo’s campaign in June.
The same is true for an executive at a New York professional sports team who also has known and worked with the governor for well over a decade. This person said he wanted to see the report first and was in meetings but would call back later.
This executive did not call back.
