Charlotte Bennett, Other Accusers Speak Out After Bombshell Gov. Cuomo Investigation Report, Call For Impeachment
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- There was plenty of reaction Tuesday to the New York state attorney general's report on sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Accuser Charlotte Bennett spoke exclusively to CBS News.
Bennett, a former aide to Cuomo, and one of the 11 women who accused him of acting inappropriately, reacted swiftly on Twitter to the investigation.
"Resign," she wrote.
Resign, @NYGovCuomo.
— Charlotte Bennett (@_char_bennett_) August 3, 2021
She later spoke exclusively to CBS News anchor Norah O'Donnell.
"Well, based on his statement earlier today, I'm going to assume that he's not going to resign, though I would think that's the most respectable way to respond to a report this scathing," Bennett said. "So, it's up to us. It's up to New Yorkers. It's up to the voices of our electeds. It's up to America. We need to say, 'Carl Heastie, you said you are the speaker of the Assembly. You have a responsibility to impeach the governor.'"
READ MORE: Cuomo Not Stepping Down After Investigation Finds He Sexually Harassed Multiple Women
We have the facts. @NYGovCuomo broke federal & state law when he sexually harassed me & other current & former staff. I do not want an apology — I want accountability and an end to victim-blaming. NYS Assembly Speaker @CarlHeastie, it's time you do the right thing: impeach him.
— Charlotte Bennett (@_char_bennett_) August 3, 2021
Bennett also told O'Donnell, "He's trying to justify himself by making me out to be someone who can't tell the difference between sexual harassment and mentorship. And I think that's absolutely absurd. We have a report. We have the facts.
"The governor broke federal and state law when he sexually harassed me and current and former staffers. And we have a responsibility to take this set of facts, and if he's not willing to step down, then we have a responsibility to act and impeach him," she added.
Another former Cuomo aide, Ana Liss, posted on social media, saying, "Thank you, thank you to everyone who expressed support out loud and in whispers."
Thank you, thank you to everyone who expressed support out loud and in whispers. For hugs and hand squeezes and texts. Thank you @LindseyBoylan, @_char_bennett_ , @KarenHinton, @SenatorBiaggi., @JaniceDean, and beyond.
— Ana Liss (@analiss) August 3, 2021
"The report, the outcome, was actually worse then many of us expected. There was actually additional people that we did not know about who had been sexually harassed," said Sonia Ossorio, president of the National Organization for Women of New York.
Ossorio is head of an organization that works to further women's equity laws and hold business and government accountable. She said the governor has no other option but to step down, CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported.
"Oh, we've called for him to resign, clearly. It's over. There's no other answer here. Nobody else has ever survived something like this and stayed in power," Ossorio said.
READ MORE: Lawmakers Call On Cuomo To Resign Or Be Removed From Office
The Sexual Harassment Working Group, made up of former state and city legislative staffers who have experienced either harassment or assault at the hands of elected officials, held a Zoom conference. The group said it's clear the governor will not be taking accountability for his actions, which have been described as gaslighting, a form of manipulation that gets the victim to question their own reality.
"A seriously disturbing sideshow that was nothing short of gaslighting," co-founder Erica Vladimer said, "and he's doing that to complicate the facts, and the fact is everything that these courageous woman told us months ago that was finally corroborated."
"This behavior has no place in any office, let alone the highest office in our state," said Rita Pasarell of the Sexual Harassment Working Group.
Sexual assault advocates are urging the state Assembly to impeach Cuomo and pass survivor legislation in response.