Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Year : 2, Issue: 15
Gothamist: A former staffer who accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment dropped her federal lawsuit against the ex-governor on Monday, criticizing him for employing aggressive legal defense tactics as he weighs a possible run for New York City mayor in 2025.
In a statement explaining the decision, Charlotte Bennett and her lawyer, Debra Katz, accused Cuomo of weaponizing the discovery process by making “invasive” requests that were designed to “humiliate” her, including demands for documentation from gynecologist visits and other medical records.
Cuomo’s attorneys, Rita Glavin and Theresa Trzaskoma, declared Bennett’s move a “complete capitulation,” claiming she dropped her “baseless” lawsuit in a “desperate attempt” to avoid having to testify under oath in an upcoming deposition.
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, sought damages from Cuomo and three of his aides for a variety of alleged harassment while she was his 25-year-old staffer in the executive chamber. Bennett said Cuomo asked her about her sex life and whether she had interest in older men.
The former governor has long denied Bennett’s claims and similar harassment allegations from other women who worked for the state, including an executive assistant who claims he groped her under her blouse. Those allegations formed the basis of a report from state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded he violated the state’s sexual harassment law. Cuomo resigned in August 2021, after James’ report was released. He has aggressively criticized how a legal team appointed by James conducted its investigation, saying the process was tainted by politics and bias against him.
The report found that Cuomo’s office was filled with “toxic, bullying-type behavior.”
In her statement explaining why she dropped the case, Bennett said Cuomo’s legal team was using tactics that caused “extraordinary pain and expense” for her family. She said there were times she “believed that I’d be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse.”
“I desperately need to live my life,” Bennett said. “That’s the choice I am making today.”
