One of 11 women who have accused New York Democratic governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual misconduct has made his first public statement. It concerns former employee Brittany Commisso, who gave an interview to TV channel CBS News and the newspaper Times Union.
The TV interview will be broadcast in full later today, but fragments of it could already be seen on Sunday. In the conversation, Commisso says that after a hug and kisses on the cheek, the governor also kissed her once on the mouth. She also says that she was groped by Cuomo at a meeting at his official residence. “What he did to me is a crime. He broke the law.”
Commisso did not dare to come forward with this earlier. “I never said anything about it,” says the former employee. “People don’t understand that this is about the New York governor. There are agents outside his official residence, they are not there to protect me. They are there to protect him.”
A high-ranking officer of the governor has since resigned. Melissa DeRosa, who is also frequently mentioned in the report, is one of Cuomo’s key confidants. She allegedly tried to cover up his misbehavior.
Commisso has since filed a complaint against the governor. The sheriff of the district where the governor’s residence is located said on Saturday that the report is the cause of extensive investigation.
Demeaning and inappropriate comments
In addition to Commisso, ten more women are accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment, according to a New York State Attorney General’s investigation report. The women speak of sexual harassment, kissing, hugging, groping and humiliating and inappropriate comments. Cuomo harassed women from 2013 to 2020, the researchers note.
Cuomo denies committing sexual misconduct. In March, he did apologize for behavior towards employees. According to him, his “playful behavior” was wrongly perceived as inappropriate.
President Biden and Democratic leaders in Congress, Senate Leader Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, say he should resign, but Cuomo has no intention of doing so for now.
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