A second former aide to the Democratic governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, filed allegations of sexual harassment, just days after his first accuser made his claims public.
Charlotte Bennett, who is described by The New York Times as “an executive assistant and health policy advisor in the Cuomo government until she left in November”, claims that Cuomo “asked questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and whether she has had sex with older men. “
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The 25-year-old official described to the Times an incident that occurred in June, when she was “alone” with the 63-year-old governor in her office at the State Capitol. According to the report, he allegedly asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships and that he was open to having relationships with women in their 20s, which were noted by the Times as “comments she interpreted as clear openings for a sexual relationship. “
Although Bennett claims that Cuomo never tried to touch her, the governor’s “message” during the conversation was “unmistakable for her”.
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“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and was terribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the Times. “And I was wondering how I was going to get out of this and I assumed it was the end of my job.”
According to the Times, Bennett revealed the incident to Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, less than a week later, and submitted a longer statement to Cuomo’s special attorney, Judith Mogul, later in the month. She was also transferred to another job as a health policy consultant, placing her on the opposite side of the Capitol building.
Bennett told the Times that he did not insist on pursuing an investigation because he “wanted to move on” and that he was happy with his new job.
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In a press release on Saturday, Cuomo called Bennett “a valuable and hardworking member of our team during COVID”, who has “every right to speak up”.
“When she came to me and talked about being a sexual assault survivor and how it shaped her and her continued efforts to create an organization that would empower her voice to help other survivors, I tried to support and help,” said Cuomo in a statement, which was issued to the Times. “Mrs. Bennett’s initial impression was right: I was trying to be a mentor to her. I never made any progress towards Ms. Bennett nor did I intend to act inappropriately. The last thing I wanted was to do it feel any of the things that are being reported. “
Cuomo added that he “will not make further comments” until a “complete and complete external review” of Bennett’s allegations is conducted and completed.
As the Times noted in its report, Cuomo did not deny Bennett’s claims about asking these personal questions.
Mogul also released a statement that read in part: “Ms. Bennett’s concerns were handled with sensitivity and respect and in accordance with applicable law and policy … The determination reached based on information provided by Ms. . Bennett was that no further action was required, which was consistent with Ms. Bennett’s wishes. “
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Fox News contacted Bennett and DesRosiers for comment.
Lindsey Boylan, Cuomo’s first accuser, expressed his support for Bennett.
“I am with you Charlotte. We are with you. Always,” wrote Boylan. “I’m so proud of you, Charlotte.”
Boylan, Cuomo’s former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser, published a bombshell on Wednesday on the Medium website. She accused the governor of “going out of his way to touch me on the lower back, arms and legs”, forcibly kissing her on the lips during an individual meeting and suggesting that they “play strip poker” during an airplane trip.
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Cuomo’s office denied Boylan’s allegations of harassment, calling them “simply false” and insisting that the strip poker comment “did not happen”.
Meanwhile, the prominent Democrat also faces a growing scandal over his political controversy of sending COVID-positive patients to asylums in the early months of the pandemic and is now facing investigations by the FBI and the US attorney because of an alleged cover-up of deaths in homes of elderly people in your state.