‘Not normal.’ Cuomo’s ex-assistant details groped allegations | National / Global News

[ad_1]

ALBANY, NY (AP) An executive assistant who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of groping her chest at the governor’s mansion explained why she felt empowered to go public with her allegations on Monday, as a key legislative committee is set to discuss possible impeachment hearings.

Brittany Commisso, one of nearly a dozen women whose accounts of Cuomo’s sexual harassment were detailed in a state attorney general’s report, last week became the first woman to file a criminal complaint against Cuomo, giving a report to the county sheriff.

She said the Democratic governor first groped her on December 31, 2019. According to Commisso, Cuomo suggested they take a selfie together.

He was to my left. I was on the right. With my right hand, I took the selfie, said Commisso, now 32, in a joint interview with CBS and The Times Union of Albany. I then felt while taking the selfie, his hand going down my back on my buttocks, and he started to rub it. Don’t drag it. Not, you know, to touch it quickly while rubbing my butt.

Commisso, who started working as an executive assistant in the governor’s office in 2017, said it made her so nervous that her hands started to shake, which made it impossible for her to even take the photo.

I was embarrassed, she said. Not only embarrassed by what was going on, I was embarrassed that a governor wanted a selfie and I couldn’t take it. I was so nervous. I remember looking at them, and when he said: Can I see them? I showed him. And he said, Oh, those ain’t no good.

Cuomo’s attention was not a normal kindness, as the governor characterized it, Commisso said. Maybe for him he thought it was normal. But for me and the other women he did this to, it wasn’t normal. It was not well received and it was certainly not consensual.

She said she was waiting for her name to be publicly attached to the allegations because she feared reprisal and wanted to protect her daughter.

“After a few months and having dealt with all of this, I want her to know that she has a voice,” Commisso said of her daughter. “I never want her to be afraid to speak. ‘she is afraid of anyone in power, a man or a woman.

Cuomo denied touching women inappropriately and said the groped encounter never happened.

The Associated Press generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual misconduct unless they choose to speak out publicly, as Commisso did.

The interview aired as Cuomo faces another day under fire.

Many Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have urged Cuomo to step down. About two-thirds of members of the National Assembly have already said they favor an impeachment trial if he refuses to resign. Only a simple majority vote is needed to start an impeachment trial.

Cuomo will go into the fight without his former main assistant, Melissa DeRosa.

DeRosa, a constant presence alongside Cuomo during his months of coronavirus press conferences, resigned Sunday night, saying the past two years have been emotionally and mentally taxing.

The administration has been in crisis since last week, when a report released by state attorney general Letitia James found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.

Cuomo’s attorneys attacked the attorney general’s investigation as biased in favor of his accusers.

At least five district attorneys have requested documents from the attorney general’s investigation to see if any of the allegations could lead to criminal charges. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said on Saturday Cuomo could face misdemeanor charges if investigators substantiated Commissos’ complaint.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

[ad_2]