Cuomo Bars Press from State Fair Appearance Over ‘Covid Restrictions’

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Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) banned reporters from covering his appearance at a Tuesday event, citing “restrictions” related to Covid-19.

“Due to COVID restrictions, this event is CLOSED PRESS,” Cuomo’s office said in an email to reporters. “The event will be live-streamed on the governor’s website.”

The governor has been under siege by members of both parties in his state after at least five women, including four of his former aides, accused him over the last month of sexual harassment. Republicans in the state legislature proposed a resolution on Monday to impeach Cuomo, while New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James appointed former U.S. Attorney Joon Kim to investigate the allegations.

The email came in advance of Cuomo’s appearance at the New York State Fair in Syracuse, where he spent 30 minutes speaking about Covid-19. The fair was ironically the scene of a 2016 incident in which Cuomo urged a reporter, Bethany Cefalu, to eat a “whole sausage.” Video of that incident, which featured one of Cuomo’s daughter watching the situation with a look of apparent disapproval, surfaced this month amid the allegations of harassment.

The Times Union reported on Tuesday that a sixth woman had come forward to allege that Cuomo touched her inappropriately last year during a visit to the governor’s mansion. Unlike Cuomo’s previous accusers, that woman was not named.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article misstated the name of U.S. Attorney Joon Kim. That error has been corrected.