Six months after stepping down as governor and delivering what was believed to be his last televised address, Andrew Cuomo is expected to return to television starting Monday.
The former governor and his team have produced new ads in what Albany experts believe is part of the politician’s attempt to “clear his name.” Cuomo has resigned as governor of New York following a damning report from Attorney General Letitia James’s office detailing multiple allegations of sexual harassment by nearly a dozen women.
Long before his resignation in August, Cuomo maintained his innocence against allegations that he sexually harassed countless women, used state resources to produce a book and falsified numbers related to COVID deaths in nursing homes.
Even in the months since his departure from Albany, his attorney, Rita Glavin, has remained a public face, raising questions and questioning several of Cuomo’s accusers, as well as the attorney general.
Glavin came out just two weeks ago to announce plans to file a complaint about Letitia James’ handling of the review and report on sexual harassment allegations made against him.
His team also reiterated requests to see all of the underlying evidence collected in the investigation, arguing that there is evidence of witness tampering and perjury that needs to be investigated as the attorney general’s office allegedly failed to do so. Among the evidence Glavin cited was the “slow release” of a limited number of transcripts in the investigation.
“He won’t let this go,” Glavin said. “It’s insulting to tell someone who has been wrongly accused and treated unfairly to ‘go ahead, go ahead.’ No. No. He’s not going to go ahead simply because the truth is important.
In response to allegations of misconduct, the attorney general’s office said in a statement to our sister network NBC New York that “Andrew Cuomo has been hiding behind his campaign attorney and falsely yelling ‘witch hunt’ despite previously admitting to this misconduct several times. If he thinks he has a real legal case, he should go ahead and present it.” .
The tug-of-war between Cuomo and James is expected to take center stage in the set of announcements that will begin circulating starting Monday. CNBC’s Brian Schwartz reported that insider sources said the ad targets the attorney and the investigation of the governor’s allegations.
It’s a decision that reportedly took many Democrats by surprise. Schwartz tweeted Thursday, saying many of the party’s leaders were unaware the announcement was coming.
