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Cuomo accuser speaks out, calls denials "dangerous," "victim blaming"

03 August 2021
Dan Ackermann

A former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who accused him of sexual harassment, spoke out against his earlier denial of inappropriate behavior, telling CBS News that the lawmaker's comments were "dangerous" and "victim blaming."

Driving the news: At a press conference earlier Tuesday, Cuomo specifically addressed the allegations made by his ex-aide, Charlotte Bennett, admitting he "did ask her questions I don't normally ask people," but he flatly denied other details of her allegations.

What they're saying: Asked if Cuomo's denial amounted to gaslighting, Bennett answered "absolutely."

  • "He is trying to justify himself by making me out to be someone who can't tell the difference between sexual harassment and mentorship ... I am not confused. It is not confusing," she said.
  • Bennett added that Cuomo broke federal and state laws by sexually harassing her and other staffers, and said if the governor refuses to resign, lawmakers should move to impeach him.
  • Bennett added that while Cuomo could publicly deny the allegations against him, "privately, he knows that he sexually harassed staffers."
  • The governor's denial "is normalizing not only victim blaming but sexual harassment. He is saying that women come forward with their stories, and we don't need to take it seriously," Bennett noted.

The big picture: The results of an independent investigation found Tuesday that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women by engaging in unwanted and inappropriate groping, kissing, hugging and comments.

  • The Albany County district attorney announced Tuesday it opened a criminal investigation into the allegations against the governor.
  • Cuomo refused to resign Tuesday, saying "the facts are much different than what has been portrayed" and reiterating that "never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances."
  • President Biden and other top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, have called for Cuomo's resignation.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.