Former Cuomo aide drops sexual harassment claim, saying she faced a legal onslaught
A woman who made explosive allegations of sexual harassment against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week she had dropped her federal lawsuit against him, citing "invasive discovery requests" that included a request for her medical records from more than a decade ago.
Charlotte Bennett was the second woman to accuse the then-governor of sexual harassment in 2021, alleging he subjected her to unwanted advances, including telling her he was "lonely" and asking her if she would be open to sex with an older man.
In a statement on Monday, attorneys for Cuomo suggested Bennett withdrew her lawsuit a day before the former governor's legal team had been scheduled to depose her.
"Ms. Bennett's decision to drop her baseless lawsuit should be viewed as a complete capitulation," the attorneys said, adding they had gathered "mountains of exculpatory discovery," including contemporaneous text messages and video, that "completely refute her claims against Governor Cuomo."
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after New York's attorney general released the results of an investigation that concluded he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, including Bennett.
When that investigation came out, Cuomo denied ever sexually harassing women. "The facts are much different than what has been portrayed," Cuomo said at the time. "I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances."
An attorney for Bennett said she would still be pursuing a case against the state of New York, her employer at the time of the alleged harassment. In a statement, Bennett called Cuomo's legal filings "abusive."
"Throughout this extraordinarily painful two-year case, I've many times believed that I'd be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends," Bennett said. "I desperately need to live my life."
