Andrew Cuomo: Accuser Brittany Commisso says governor broke law
- Published
An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has broken her anonymity and called for accountability over his alleged sexual harassment.
Brittany Commisso's claims were first detailed in a report which found Mr Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.
"What he did to me was a crime," Ms Commisso, 32, said about alleged instances of groping while she worked under the governor.
Mr Cuomo, 63, denies any wrongdoing and has so far resisted calls to resign.
An inquiry by Attorney General Letitia James's office last week found that Mr Cuomo's alleged behaviour against women had violated state and federal law.
The investigation took months and involved interviews with almost 200 people, including staff members making complaints against him.
Ms Commisso, referred to in the report as Executive Assistant #1, told investigators that the governor made increasingly suggestive comments about her appearance and relationship status after she began working with him.
She said he had inappropriately hugged her - and once kissed her on the lips without her consent.
She also accused the governor of touching her bottom while the pair took a photograph together and alleged that on another occasion put his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast.
Speaking about her experience in the interview to be aired on Monday, Ms Commisso said she had not spoken out at the time because she had not thought she would believed.
"I was afraid that if I had come forward, and revealed my name, that the governor and his 'enablers' [as] I like to call them would viciously attack me, would smear my name as I had seen and heard them do before to people," she said.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple previously confirmed that a criminal investigation has been opened against Mr Cuomo, with Ms Commisso identifying herself as the complainant.
Mr Cuomo has so far resisted calls to resign over the allegations, including from President Joe Biden, but may soon face impeachment by state lawmakers.
He denied specific allegations to investigators and said in a statement last week that he had "never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances".
On Sunday his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, announced her resignation.
Lawyer Roberta Kaplan, chair of gender equality group Time's Up, also resigned her post due to ties to Mr Cuomo on Monday.
"Unfortunately, recent events have made it clear that even our apparent allies in the fight to advance women can turn out to be abusers," she wrote in her letter, reported by the New York Times.
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