Cuomo Accuser: 'What He Did to Me Was a Crime'

'Executive Assistant #1' comes forward
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2021 11:45 AM CDT
Bill Maher Says Cuomo Won't Survive: 'He's not Donald Trump'
Gov. Andrew Cuomo talks on the phone while walking with his dog Captain outside New York's Executive Mansion on Saturday.   (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

Bill Maher has joined the chorus calling for Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. Maher opened his HBO show Friday night by raising the independent New York investigation released last week that found Cuomo sexually harassed female employees and other women. Maher pointed out that it doesn't look good for Cuomo. "Democrats are dropping him like he's made of gluten," he said. Later in the show, the Hill reports, commentator Malcolm Nance said Cuomo is "going full Trump" in defending himself. But Cuomo is “not Donald Trump," Maher answered. Other Cuomo coverage includes:

  • A CBS interview with Brittany Commisso, one of Cuomo's accusers, who said Sunday that "what he did to me was a crime." Commisso's accusations were included in the state attorney general's report, which said Cuomo "reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast" and "put his hand on and then rubbed and grabbed her butt." She had not been named publicly until now and is referred to in the report as "Executive Assistant #1." Cuomo has denied Commisso's accusations.
  • A Washington Post report that says one day after decrying the "ongoing, persistent culture" of sexual harassment, Cuomo asked a female state trooper, "Why don't you wear a dress?" The governor had just signed into law a measure making it easier for women to win claims of sexual harassment on the job. Women accuse Cuomo of harassment even as he claimed to be their advocate.

  • A New York Times analysis of how Cuomo used the #MeToo movement as cover. Leaders of Time's Up, the gender-equality organization, advised the governor and his staff when accusations were raised. Two of its leaders, per the Times, helped with a letter intended to discredit one of Cuomo's accusers.
  • A CNN report that the Democratic Party has locked Cuomo out of its principal tool for raising campaign money. Candidates mostly use ActBlue to collect small donations, but Cuomo counts more on large fundraisers. He has about $20 million in campaign cash in the bank. But the Democrats' move, per CNN, indicates that they think Cuomo is on his way out.
(More Andrew Cuomo stories.)

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