A few hours before the deadline to file lawsuits under the New York Adult Survivors Act, former state Governor Andrew Cuomo joined the list of big names who have been accused of sexual misconduct within the framework of this temporary rule that eliminated the statute of limitations for these crimes.
According to The New York Post, the accusation came from Brittany Commisso, an advisor who worked with Cuomo in the past. As The New York Post learned, Commisso claimed she was made to perform "humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses, sexual touching of the buttocks and forcible touching of the breast" between 2019 and 2021 when she worked under the former governor.
The lawsuit against Cuomo became known immediately following similar action against the Democratic mayor of New York City, Eric Adams. Both accusations were made under the provisions of the law that Democratic legislators promoted in the state. As Brittany Commisso told The New York Post, “It disgusts me that Andrew Cuomo is even considering running for public office in the wake of Mayor Adam’s alleged sexual harassment when he himself will not accept responsibility or even acknowledge his sexual harassment of me, aside from numerous other victims, while the governor of our state.”
It is not the first time that Commisso has accused Cuomo of this type of behavior. The same woman had already reported him for groping her on the premises of the Governor's Mansion in 2017, for which a criminal complaint for a misdemeanor was filed.
Commisso assures that since she strongly rejected the advances and intentions of the former governor, he retaliated by trying to derail her career. She claims that even current Governor Kathy Hochul participated in this campaign, which saw Commisso "demoted" and assigned to "the demeaning task of answering telephones in the Lieutenant Governor’s office until moved to other offices," according to the allegations, per The New York Post.
History of abuse
Commisso accusation is not the only against Cuomo. In total, there are 11 women who have accused him of misconduct while they worked for him. The state attorney general issued a report that supported these facts. The controversy led to Cuomo's resignation as governor of New York.
Although not all cases have a corresponding lawsuit, one prior to Commisso's remains to be resolved in the federal courts in Brooklyn. This complaint comes from a state police officer, who claims that the former governor touched her inappropriately in August 2021.
