Andrew Cuomo is taking his revenge tour on the offensive — with the previous Empire State governor transferring to sue an ex-staffer who accused him of sexual harassment.
Cuomo, 67, filed a discover Thursday that he intends to launch a lawsuit accusing former aide Charlotte Bennett of defaming him when she alleged he subjected her to invasive questions on her private life and sexual relationships.
The discover of declare, which was filed in New York State Supreme Court docket, is looking for compensatory and punitive damages.
It comes lower than two weeks after Bennett dropped her federal harassment expenses in opposition to Cuomo — simply days earlier than she was on account of give a marathon deposition.
“Governor Cuomo totally intends to clear his identify and to make sure that Bennett and her brokers by no means once more repeat the falsehood that he sexually harassed Bennett,” Cuomo’s attorneys wrote within the submitting.
Cuomo’s attorneys have but to file a proper authorized criticism laying out his precise expenses in opposition to Bennett, however the six-page summons argues that proof uncovered amid her federal lawsuit present she conjured up the harassment claims.
The submitting additionally factors to a press release Bennett’s legal professional, Debra Katz, made earlier this month when the federal lawsuit was dropped, during which she continued to assert Cuomo sexually harassed her shopper.
“The December 9 Defamatory Assertion—which was meant to be and was broadly disseminated and which was made within the wake of Bennett and her brokers’ quite a few prior public accusations in opposition to Governor Cuomo—was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it understanding full nicely that it was false and aspiring to trigger hurt to Governor Cuomo,” Cuomo’s attorneys wrote.
Bennett’s attorneys didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Thursday.
The transfer is the most recent in a years-long, multi-million greenback authorized slog Cuomo has engaged in to battle three ladies who’ve sued him over claims associated to sexual harassment – Bennett, Brittany Commisso, and an nameless state trooper assigned to his protecting element referred to in courtroom papers as Trooper One.
A lot of Cuomo’s protection has been footed by taxpayers underneath a state legislation that lets former pols get reimbursed by the state to make use of marketing campaign money to defend themselves for accusations stemming from their work in workplace.
New Yorkers have thus far coughed up round $16 million to foot Cuomo and his aides’ authorized payments.
Cuomo’s attorneys have additionally hit again at criticisms of his taxpayer-funded struggle — to the purpose of even attempting to get a gag order to stop Bennett’s attorneys from speaking concerning the subject.
“The defamation swimsuit filed in the present day from plaintiff Cuomo is riddled with errors in well-recorded reality, from issues as fundamental as when Charlotte Bennett notified her superiors of Cuomo’s unlawful conduct, to why they then transferred her to a different job so Cuomo couldn’t proceed to have contact together with her,” Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group informed The Publish.
“The Workplace of the Legal professional Normal’s unbiased, thorough report incorporates depositions underneath oath from Ms. Bennett and Cuomo’s former employees, in addition to the related information, on these issues and extra. A separate investigation by the Division of Justice discovered that Cuomo’s employees additionally violated federal legal guidelines,” Vladimer continued.
Bennett, in the meantime, can also be suing the Governor’s workplace in state courtroom instantly over her sexual harassment and retaliation expenses. That case remains to be ongoing and Cuomo’s allies are begging Gov. Kathy Hochul to not conform to a settlement with Bennett.
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