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The former governor of New York. Andrew Cuomo On Thursday, he filed a notice saying he would file a defamation lawsuit against a former aide, who previously filed a federal sexual harassment lawsuit against him, alleging she defamed him in the process.
“The nature of this action is to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the serious injury and loss that Governor Cuomo has suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the false statement on December 9, 2024 by Bennett and his agents that the Gov. Cuomo “sexually” harassed’ Bennett,” says a legal notice filed by Cuomo against Charlotte Bennett on Thursday.
“Bennett’s agents tweeted this statement on December 9, 2024 with the caption: “Debra Katz and Charlotte Bennett issued statements on news that Bennett voluntarily dismissed his US District Court lawsuit in the SDNY against Andrew Cuomo , who sexually harassed her.” he reposted his agents’ tweet, which has garnered more than 90,000 views. The defamatory statement on December 9 was spread widely and which was made in the wake of numerous prior public accusations by Bennett and his agents against Governor Cuomo, was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it abundantly clear that it was false and intended to harm Governor Cuomo .”
Bennett was one of several women who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, which ultimately contributed to her own resignation in 2021.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed notice Thursday that he would file a defamation lawsuit against former aide Charlotte Bennett. (Getty Images)
“I would never want to be useless in any way, and I think, under the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I stand by and let the government rule again, and so that’s what I’m going to do.” Cuomo said at the time while denying the allegations against him and arguing that state investigators from Attorney General Letitia James’ office were biased against him.
“I’ve slipped and called people ‘honey’ and ‘darling’ and ‘darling.’ I mean it’s endearing, but women found it old-fashioned and offensive,” Cuomo said at the time. “I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be callous and nasty.”
“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize how far the line has been drawn again,” he added. “There are generational and cultural changes that I didn’t fully appreciate. And I should, no excuses.”
Bennett dropped his suit against Cuomo, which he filed in 2022, this December on the eve of his deposition in the case.
FORMER NY GOVT. ANDREW CUOMO REFERRAL TO DOJ FOR EDUCATION BY HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE: REPORT
“Since Ms. Bennett filed suit in federal court in September 2022, former Governor Cuomo has taken every opportunity to harass our client with a staggering number of invasive discovery requests and outrageous statements in pleadings to embarrass and humiliate her,” Bennett’s attorney, Debra Katz. , he said in a statement when the lawsuit was dropped on Dec. 9. “These include requests for medical records by unrelated specialists, including gynecologists, optometrists and others, as well as medical records going back more than ten years from when I was a minor.”
“This fishing expedition was designed to unearth material to discredit our client and distract from the fact that Mr. Cuomo did, as the New York Attorney General concluded after a lengthy investigation, sexually harass Ms. Bennett and at least 11 other women.It is also important not to lose sight of the fact that before engaging in his multi-year, multi-million dollar legal war against Ms. Bennett: funded by New York State taxpayers: Mr. Cuomo apologized for his behavior In a March 2021 news conference, he apologized for “making somebody feel uncomfortable” and for “the pain I caused somebody” and said, “I recognize some of the things.” I said they’ve been misinterpreted as unwanted flirting. To the extent that anyone feels that way, I’m very sorry.” His apologies were empty.”
Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo’s representative, praised Bennett’s decision to drop the case at the time, saying his claims “falsely defamed” the former governor “for years.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a helicopter after announcing his resignation, August 10, 2021, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
“Ms. Bennett’s decision to drop her meritless lawsuit should be seen as a complete capitulation and a desperate attempt to avoid confronting the mountains of exculpatory discovery, including contemporaneous texts and videos that the office from the AG never obtained, which completely refute his claims against Governor Cuomo,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“After falsely defaming Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett abruptly dropped her federal lawsuit on the eve of his deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false and that her claims had no no merit,” he said. “If the State of New York gives in to its public lobbying campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and it should demand the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers will finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harass anyone.”
Katz dismissed Cuomo’s notice of claim in a statement to the Times Union, saying it has “no merit.”
“There is a long history of using defamation lawsuits to silence and punish sexual harassment accusers,” Katz said. “It is shameful that Mr. Cuomo has now chosen this path.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Katz for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Cuomo’s notice alleges that Bennett “cynically used” conversations with Cuomo to “advance” his career and that his “false allegations materially contributed to a cascade of damage to Governor Cuomo.”
Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
