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Andrew Cuomo files notice to sue ex-staffer who accused him of sexual harassment
By
Jon Campbell
Published Dec 19, 2024
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By
Jon Campbell
Published Dec 19, 2024
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Andrew Cuomo filed a legal notice against a former staffer on Thursday who said the ex-governor sexually harassed her. His filing accuses her of making false claims that were intended to “cause harm.”
Cuomo's court papers signal that he intends to seek compensation from Charlotte Bennett, who was one of several staffers who accused the governor of harassing behavior prior to his 2021 resignation. The impending lawsuit comes as he continues to weigh a potential run for New York City mayor in 2025.
The former governor filed a summons in Manhattan state court 10 days after Bennett dropped her own sexual harassment suit against him. At the time, Bennett and her attorney, Debra Katz, issued a statement criticizing the governor and his legal team for using aggressive defense tactics that her attorney said were designed to “humiliate” the former staffer.
Cuomo, in turn, signaled he intends to sue Bennett over the written statement, which carried a headline that definitively said the governor “sexually harassed” Bennett.
“Gov. Cuomo fully intends to clear his name and to ensure that Bennett and her agents never again repeat the falsehood that he sexually harassed Bennett,” Cuomo’s summons reads.
In a statement, Katz said Cuomo’s case “has no merit.”
“There is a long history of using defamation lawsuits to silence and punish accusers of sexual harassment,” Katz said. “It is shameful that Mr. Cuomo has apparently now chosen to go down that path.”
In February 2021, Bennett became the second Cuomo aide to accuse him sexual harassment.
Bennett, who was 25 at the time, said Cuomo, then 63, asked her invasive questions about her personal life and past sexual trauma, told her he would be OK dating anyone over the age of 21 and asked her to find him a girlfriend. Taken together, Bennett said, she believed the governor was making a sexual advance.
Bennett was one of 11 women whose accusations against Cuomo were detailed in a 2021 report by a pair of private attorneys chosen by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which concluded the governor violated the state’s sexual harassment law.
Cuomo has denied sexually harassing Bennett or anyone else and has extensively criticized James’ report, calling it politically motivated and biased against him. In his lawsuit, he claimed Bennett “intentionally deliberately initiated personal conversations” with him and later falsely said the conversations made her “uncomfortable.”
In his summons, Cuomo’s attorneys said they have sent a letter to Bennett telling her to preserve any evidence she produced during the discovery process for her discontinued lawsuit. Cuomo’s attorneys are hoping to use that evidence in his defamation suit.
Bennett, meanwhile, has continued with a separate lawsuit against the State of New York, her employer when she worked for Cuomo. Her attorney has said she is in settlement talks with the state.
Tagged
new york
sexual harassment
Politics
andrew cuomo
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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