Executive Assistant Who Accused Cuomo of Groping Comes Forward

[brooklynite]

Last edited Mon Aug 9, 2021, 09:54 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: New York Times

The executive assistant who accused Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of repeatedly groping her and who filed a criminal complaint against him has come forward in an interview to be aired on Monday.

Brittany Commisso acknowledged in an interview with “CBS “This Morning” and The Albany Times Union that she was the person identified as “Executive Assistant #1” in a report by the New York State attorney general, which found that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.

“What he did to me was a crime,” Ms. Commisso said in interview excerpts released on Sunday. “He broke the law.”

She added: “The governor needs to be held accountable.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/08/nyregion/cuomo-executive-assistant-sexual-harassment.html

---

Sp much for the "anonymous accusations don't count" excuse.....

[ripcord]

1. People will find another excuse to call them out

I'm sure they are sorry she was harassed but to them she just isn't as important as her harasser.

[bucolic_frolic]

2. I think he should resign, the distraction is bad for the state

and I think there's a lot of smoke and where there's smoke there's fire. But I do wonder how this went on with so many people over a number of years and it's just surfacing now. And I am not a fan of these public interviews. In my view this stuff belongs in court.

[DAngelo136]

3. You May Not Like Cuomo

But he is entitled to be heard and to face his accusers. If this were any other kind of incident, we wouldn't be clamoring for a resignation.

For too long the politics of embarrassment has been the guiding principle, rather than the rule of law. Perhaps Cuomo is indeed guilty of the charges and is just denying them to buy time. By the same token, if he were innocent, he'd be denying the charges anyway.
In either possibility, it would behoove us to have a hearing and let all parties be under oath,evidence presented and facts be submitted to a candid world.

I detest that we are being subjected to trial by media. This anonymous accuser, now chooses to come forward. Why? Wasn't the purpose of the law to protect women from retaliation by allowing them to submit complaints without having to identify themselves? A law, mind you, Andrew Cuomo himself signed less than 2 years ago: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-legislation-enacting-sweeping-new-workplace-harassment-protections Someone please, help me to understand what purpose does this serve? Don't lawyers advise clients against making public statements while litigation is pending? You nor I will be sitting in judgement of Governor Cuomo if the State Assembly does indeed issue Articles of Impeachment and the Senate commences A Court for The Trial of Impeachments; the State Senate will. Then isn't this just a backdoor way to influence a potential jury? Is it proper? Is it fair?

I for one, am no Andrew Cuomo fan. But I did vote for him as did the majority of New Yorkers, not once but twice. And I, for one am not comfortable with the prospect of having the will of the people to be overturned without due process. This happened before with Eliot Spitzer; I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2008/01/spitzer200801

We also elected a legislature to carry out the will of the people of the State of New York. Sometimes, that duty will entail that they do some unpleasant and uncomfortable things, like impeaching the Governor, for example. To which my response would be: "Ordinary citizens serve on juries every day and sit in judgement of their fellow citizens. If they can do their civic duty, so can an elected legislature." A resignation would allow them to shirk their sworn duty and would injure the credibility of the institution by which we base democratic self governance on.

I for one, wish fervently, that all parties would exercise their right (and discretion) to remain silent until such time that they are called on to testify under oath at trial. Until then, I remain skeptical to the point of disbelief of any statements made by all parties other than their initial statements of complaint and subsequent denial.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Well said!

And I don't make such remarks very often. And I do wonder how they reconstruct events that happened many months ago and were invisible until now. Let the proper authorities see the evidence.

[Erda]

6. I think this is a political hit job.

Governor Cuomo has been an excellent and effective governor. He has acted to protect the people of New York and, as a result, NY is one of the most progressive states in the nation. He gets things done and political operatives don't like him because he ruffles feathers.

His accusers could have resigned and filed a complaint at the time of the alleged occurrence. I don't know if they did any of that. All I know is that they have chosen this time to pile on. Why is that? Why now?

Governor Cuomo is no sexual predator. His alleged offenses were 'business as usual" just a few years ago. Now, they are not being tolerated, which is a good thing. A kiss, a hand resting on the lower back at a wedding perhaps are boorish, but not impeachable. Cupping his hand on the aide's breast without her screaming or running out of the office doesn't seem plausible to me. If true, it sounds to me like she didn't stop him well before with a strong warning. It is good to believe women but it is unfair to not believe the Governor when he says he didn't do this. In other words, allow BOTH parties to present evidence before acting.

I think this is a manufactured scandal. Follow the money and find the political insiders who want the Governor out of office. Find out who wants their political hands on the federal money coming into the state. And find the Cuomo haters from the Trump camp who hate the Governor for highlighting the former administration's utter incompetence in its COVID response.