After the resignation, the Cuomo case takes a new step: the former governor of the State of New York, Andrew Cuomo, was indicted Thursday, October 28, in court for sexual assault on a former employee.
“A misdemeanor complaint against former Governor Andrew Cuomo has been filed in Albany City Court”, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) a spokesperson for the courts of the State of New York, specifying that it was a sexual matter.
Released by multiple media outlets, the complaint dated Thursday from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office accuses the former governor of“Forced touching” on December 7, 2020, at his official residence in Albany, the state capital. A statement from the sheriff’s office clarifies that a criminal subpoena orders Mr. Cuomo to appear in court in Albany on November 17.
Confusion
The filing of this complaint creates confusion. County District Attorney David Soares’ office, which takes part in the investigation and handles any prosecution, said it was caught off guard. “Like the rest of the public, we were surprised today to learn that a criminal complaint has been filed in Albany City Court by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office against Andrew Cuomo”, did he declare.
Rita Glavin, Andrew Cuomo’s lawyer, denounces a “Political act” led by Craig Apple, the Albany County Sheriff, to his client.
The name of the complainant has not been released but Mr Cuomo has been publicly accused of sexually assaulting an assistant, Britanny Commisso, at his residence in Albany on the date stated in the complaint.
Mme Commisso had said the then governor had caught her as she was preparing to leave. When she told him: ” You are going to get us into trouble ”, he would have answered him ” I do not care “, and slammed the door. He then slipped her hand into the blouse to grab her chest.
National star during the pandemic
Accused for several months by former employees, the 63-year-old governor announced his resignation on August 10, a week after the publication of a damning investigation report listing the cases of eleven women harassed or sexually assaulted.
A dizzying fall for the one who ruled the country’s fourth state (about 20 million inhabitants) since 2011 and was aiming for a fourth term in 2022.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when New York was the American epicenter in the spring of 2020, it had acquired the status of a national star. With his daily, rational and reassuring press briefings, this experienced but reputedly hard and authoritarian politician had changed dimension, embodying the antithesis of Donald Trump, whose announcements on the health crisis were seen as erratic.
His interventions had been hailed by the Television Academy, which had awarded him an Emmy. But the authority announced at the end of August that it was withdrawing the statuette from him.