A curious thing just happened in the sexual harassment lawsuit against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: accuser Charlotte Bennett just dropped her claims against Cuomo despite continuing with litigation against the state over the alleged conduct of Cuomo. While the state has its own obligations as an employer, it is odd that you would drop the claim against the alleged actor himself. That is like dropping your product liability claim against Tesla while suing the electric company for powering the car.
A significant number of women alleged sexual harassment against the former governor. They previously gave evidence in criminal investigations and spoke to state and federal investigators.
However, in 2022, Albany County District Attorney David Soares dropped a criminal complaint against Cuomo for lack of evidence. Later, five additional criminal cases were dropped. He has been facing pending civil litigation over the allegations of sexual harassment for years.
The state is reportedly paying Cuomo’s legal fees. The strange profile of the litigation with this withdrawal may reflect the strikingly different interests of the legal teams representing Cuomo versus the state.
Bennett was the second of several former aides to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. She complained that Cuomo was harassing her with “invasive” demands of her medical records and pursuing testimony from friends. However, when you accuse someone of being a sexual harasser, such discovery is not just expected but often essential for the defense.
The defense took a victory lap while responding to rumors of a settlement in the making with the state. It noted that the move came shortly before Bennett would appear for deposition:
“After falsely smearing Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett suddenly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false and her claims had no merit. If New York State does give in to her public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and should require the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone.”
The deposition was expected to be brutal, including questions raised by videotapes in which Bennett calls Cuomo “amazing” and “wonderful” to work with. The defense has also cited prior allegations against others that were later dropped.
The settlement talks could amplify the different interests of the two legal teams. The state team is answerable to Gov. Kathleen Hochul, who may have an interest in not only killing the case but also creating a record of a settlement over the allegations. Her office previously settled with the Biden Administration over federal claims. I previously expressed concern over the lack of fairness and due process for Cuomo in that case and how the settlement was being portrayed.
The dropping of the case may undermine negotiations with the state unless they have reached an undisputed agreement. Between the settlement with the federal government and settlements with these accusers, Cuomo may be left without an adjudication on specific claims that he wants to clear his name. Such settlements create a stain of presumptive guilt for many.
The only thing that is clear is that the case against Andrew Cuomo seems to get “curiouser and curiouser.”
Soares dropped the criminal complaint because standing laws were not strong enough for a criminal conviction, NOT due to a lack of evidence.
This is why we need stronger laws on rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, both in states and federal.
Two other civil cases remain— the woman state trooper and the woman in Albany.
Soares also said the women were credible and he did not cast doubt on their allegations.
Cuomo is known for being nice and seeking what he called needed advice from new hires only to quickly show his true colors days or weeks later. So Bennett may have thought he was “amazing” until she realized he wasn’t.
Cuomo’s attorney, Rita Glavin, is a well-known corporate criminal lawyer who is making millions off this case, thanks to state law that requires taxpayers to pay her fee. She is quick to take one statement and twist it to what she will argue is a fact. This is Glavin’s mission in life – to save criminals from a guilty conviction. She rescued Chevron from pressure to pay a multi-billion conviction for massive oil contamination on land owned by indigenous tribes in Ecuador.
If you are trying to beat the law, hire Rita.
“While the state has its own obligations as an employer, it is odd that you would drop the claim against the alleged actor himself. That is like dropping your product liability claim against Tesla while suing the electric company for powering the car.”
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It happens all the time. I typically release an individual defendant, who sometimes has the sympathy (or political affiliation, in this case) of the jury, to go after the corporate defendant who enjoys very little sympathy. Maybe a tad unorthodox in this context but not unheard of for sure.
The “deep pockets” of the “low hanging fruit?”
Cuomo amazed me right from the start, first in daring to so joyously throw the blind and black David Paterson under the bus (this [Cuomo] is a Democrat?), only to ultimately receive similar treatment from Kathy Hochul. And what was Cuomo’s very first act as governor? He canceled the TASA grant which provided assistance to pregnant teens, the overwhelming majority of whom were what? Black. It appeared he raided New York’s state grants, claiming he could find greater value elsewhere. (Really?). while promoting the private consultant who assisted in this “greater value.” Later the nursing home exec order which suggests he knowingly sentenced our elderly to death with, “Who cares, they were going to die anyway” (words to that effect). Seventeen died of Covid at my locale while Cuomo hosted 100-plus consecutive days of Covid news briefings in a “meet the governor” play for the presidency (?) Only to ultimately resign under MeToo allegations (?) While brother Chris strutted his butt in the naked Hamptons garden, assuming that the admiration of his wife’s friends was so full, so runneth-over, they’d never video it and share it with the public. No, certainly not. Can this really be happening in New York state? Is this the true state of the Democrat party? Rome is burning, nationwide, Rome is burning. Pure dumpster fire.
Nothing says exodus like failed Blue State policies, IRS data shows progressive policies have led to ‘Blue State Exodus’ over past 30 years
“From 1990 to 2021, 13 million people left Calif., NY, Illinois, NJ and Massachusetts and migrated to Fla., Texas, NC, AZ, Tennessee, Nevada, and SC.”
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/irs-data-shows-blue-state-exodus-over-past-30-years
@Upstate
Yes, and they are bringing the mindset that destroyed the places they fled with them. People in those states really, really need to hold the line.
With Houston and Austin, for example, if enough suburbs of Dallas flipped (which some ARE. Shoot, have you looked at property values in Grapevine lately, which used to be a ‘cow town’? Or the Western Slope of Colorado, formerly ‘oil country’?), politically at least, Texas could very easily flip blue, Colorado already has. And it would be through displacement, not a ‘change of heart’ on the part of the citizens. It’s basically 21st century colonialism, as far as I’m concerned.
People need to pay attention!
Dear Mr. Turley, perhaps she dropped the lawsuit due to finances or she was simply weary of it all.
Why Not, it’s ‘Lawfair Lawyers in Love’ ⚖️ 😈 💖
Sure does give the impression of the “Games” people play book……….
So, have any criminal charges been brought against Cuomo related to alleged harassment? Have any civil claims resulted in a holding against him or a settlement by him? Are there any civil claims against him for harassment left?
At the time, this appeared to be a political coup, perhaps related to the nursing home Covid scandal, or perhaps just arising out of power plays within the Democratic Party. Trump has come back; maybe Cuomo will too.
If he weren’t terribly concerned about what would be revealed in law suits, why did he resign?
The nursing home COVID scandal.
As the Duke Lacrosse case showed us the left’s #believeallwomen is bad policy on its face!
The only thing here that seems important is the fact of the difference in how the DA’s are handling this case for Gov Cuomo and how they handled the cases of Jean Carroll against Trump. Seem like in the Cuomo case the DA actually looked for a reason to drop the personal case, whereas a much weaker case like Jeane Carroll who could not give the year, had no corroboration, and wore a dress that had not been even produced at the time as well as having no forensics at all was pursued .Seems like a strange difference in approach. I wonder why?
Lastly why should we care, this state is trying to commit suicide as a political entity. We should stay out of the way, ignore it and let the suicide proceed.
Not only did Carroll not know the year, she didn’t know the hour of the day, the day of the week, the month, the season, nor which stall in the Bergdorf Goodman store.
Venue corruption; should have tried the case in Coeur d’Alene.