One of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s accusers believes he “fixed it” for having sex, and his lawyer says he “derailed” the young woman’s career, reports Thursday.
Charlotte Bennett, 25, spoke to “CBS Evening News” for an interview aired Thursday night and anchor Norah O’Donnell advanced her remarks in a music video posted to Twitter.
Bennett, Cuomo’s former aide, detailed the “shocking questions” that “63-year-old Cuomo allegedly asked him about his sex life,” including whether he “had sex with older men,” O’Donnell said.
Cuomo also allegedly “told him he was alone.”
“She talks about how she thinks Governor Cuomo fixed it,” O’Donnell said.
Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, meanwhile, told CBS News that the alleged sexual harassment “derailed her career.”
Bennett left the Cuomo administration in November and now works as chief operating officer for Primary Maternity Care, a start-up company founded by a midwife turned entrepreneur with an MBA from the Yale School of Management, according to her resume. on the LinkedIn website. .
According to the Empire Center for Public Policy’s “SeeThroughNY” website, his state salary was $ 55,000 a year in fiscal year 2019.
In a report released Saturday, Bennett told the New York Times he was working as Cuomo’s executive assistant when he sexually harassed her while they were alone in his Albany office on June 5th.
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and he felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” he said.
Bennett said he complained to Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, within a week and soon got a new job as director of health policy and an office on the other side of the Capitol building from the Cuomo’s office.
Asked to comment on Bennett’s interview on CBS, a Cuomo spokesman again referred to a statement issued Saturday by Beth Garvey, the governor’s special counsel and chief adviser.
“Madam. Bennett’s concerns were treated with sensitivity and respect and in accordance with applicable law and policy,” Garvey said at the time. “She was consulted about the resolution and expressed satisfaction and gratitude for the way it was handled.”
During a press conference Wednesday, Cuomo offered what appeared to be a personal message of regret to Bennett, identifying her as “the young woman who worked here, who said it made her uncomfortable in the workplace.”
Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, 36, has also accused Cuomo of sexual harassment and a third woman, Anna Ruch, 33, said he grabbed her face and kissed her after officiating at a Manhattan wedding in 2019.
Cuomo also said he felt “horrible” and “embarrassed” by the allegations against him, but defended his actions as “involuntary” and insisted, “I’ve never touched anyone inappropriately.”
He also pledged to ignore bipartisan demands that he resign and urged New Yorkers to suspend the trial pending an investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James.
Additional reports by Bernadette Hogan