The precipitous fall from his position of respect, authority and admiration just a year ago continues for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The court of public opinion is in deep discussion.
A former assistant to the governor, Charlotte Bennett, 25, appeared on CBS News Thursday and added to Cuomo’s difficulties.
She said she inferred the 63-year-old was asking her for sex during a meeting at work.
“Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely,” Bennett told Norah O’Donnell of “CBS Evening News.”
She believed Cuomo was feeling like a superhero as his coronavirus updates received huge ratings and national attention.
“I think he felt like he was untouchable in a lot of ways,” Bennett told O’Donnell, adding that Cuomo ramped up the pursuit.
Bennett came forward to the New York Times earlier in the week, asserting that Cuomo asked whether the age difference mattered and that he told her he was “fine” with anyone over 22 years old.
“I thought, he’s trying to sleep with me, the governor is trying to sleep with me,” she told O’Donnell. “And I am deeply uncomfortable, and I have to get out of this room as soon as possible.”
She also ripped into the governor’s attempt Wednesday at a public apology (Cuomo said he “learned an important lesson.”)
“It’s not an apology,” Bennett said. “It’s not an issue of my feelings. It’s an issue of his actions. The fact is he was sexually harassing me and he has not apologized for sexually harassing me. And he can’t even use my name.”
Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, accused the governor of forcibly kissing her, and a third woman with no professional ties to the governor, Anna Ruch, accused Cuomo of making unwanted advances.
Add comment