Cuomo, in Rare Public Appearance, Says: ‘I Didn’t Do Anything Wrong’

After months of holding virtual news conferences, Gov. Andrew Cuomo took reporters’ questions in Syracuse, N.Y., and rejected accusations of harassment.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — In recent months, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has striven to convey a sense of normalcy during a period of profound turmoil, holding a series of tightly controlled events where he is often surrounded by aides or supporters, and seldom by reporters. Since mid-December, Mr. Cuomo has not been in the same room with any reporter allowed to ask a question, citing concerns over the coronavirus, even when speaking in cavernous locales like the Javits Center or Belmont Park. He has taken questions every week, but it has been done remotely, with his staff choosing the reporters and controlling their microphones, sometimes preventing follow-ups. Such strategies have been in greater use since late February, when a series of sexual harassment allegations engulfed Mr. Cuomo, prompting journalists’ organizations to suggest that the governor is dodging the press.