Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo On Thursday, he filed notice that he will file a defamation lawsuit against his former aide, who previously filed a federal lawsuit against him for sexual harassment, claiming she defamed him in the process.
“The nature of this action is to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the serious injuries and losses that Governor Cuomo has suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the December 9, 2024 false statement by Bennett and her agents that Governor Cuomo was ‘sexually’ ‘harassing’ Bennett,” reads the legal notice that Cuomo filed against Charlotte Bennett on Thursday.
“Bennett's clients tweeted this statement on December 9, 2024 with the title: 'Debra Katz and Charlotte Bennett have issued statements regarding news that Bennett has voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit she filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against Andrew Cuomo, who sexually harassed her.' Her agents' tweet, which had more than 90,000 views, published the defamatory December 9 statement — which should have been widely disseminated and which was filed in the wake of the accusations. “The numerous prior statements made by Bennett and her agents against Governor Cuomo – were false and defamatory, and were made by Bennett knowing full well that they were false and intended to harm Governor Cuomo’s citizens.”
Bennett was one of several women who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, which ultimately contributed to his accusation Resignation in 2021.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed notice that he will file a defamation lawsuit against former aide Charlotte Bennett on Thursday. (Getty Images)
He added: “I never want to be unhelpful in any way, and I believe that under the circumstances, the best way I can help now is to step aside and allow the government to return to power, and therefore, that is what I will do.” Cuomo said at the time while he denied the accusations against him, saying state investigators from Attorney General Letitia James' office were biased against him.
“I slipped up and called people ‘honey,’ ‘sweetheart,’ and ‘sweetie.’ I meant it to be endearing, but women found it old-fashioned and offensive,” Cuomo said at the time. “I take full responsibility for my actions. I was very familiar with the people. “My sense of humor can be insensitive and disgusting.”
He added: “In my opinion, I had never crossed the line with anyone before, but I did not realize to what extent the line had been redrawn.” “There are generational and cultural shifts that I didn't fully appreciate. I should have, no excuses.”
Bennett Her lawsuit was dropped v. Cuomo, which she filed in 2022, last December on the eve of her testimony in the case.
“Since Ms. Bennett filed suit in federal court in September 2022, former Governor Cuomo has used every opportunity to harass our client with a staggering number of invasive discovery requests and obscene statements in pleadings to embarrass and humiliate her,” Bennett's attorney, Debra Katz, said. In a statement after the lawsuit was dropped on December 9. Gynecologists, opticians, etc., as well as medical records dating back more than ten years when she was a minor.”
“This fishing expedition was designed to seek material to discredit our client and distract from the fact that Mr. Cuomo did, as the New York Attorney General’s Office concluded after a lengthy investigation, sexually harass Ms. Bennett and at least 11 other women. It is also important that he does not lose sight of Mind you, the fact is that before engaging in his multi-year, multi-million-dollar legal war against Ms. Bennett — funded by New York State taxpayers — Mr. Cuomo apologized at a press conference in March 2021, apologized for “making anyone feel uncomfortable” and for “any pain I caused anyone,” and said: “I acknowledge that some of the things I said were misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation to the extent that anyone felt that way.” “I'm really sorry about that. His apologies were empty.”
Richard Azzopardi, a representative for Cuomo, praised Bennett's decision to drop the case at the time, saying her allegations had “falsely smeared” the former governor “for years.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo prepares to take a helicopter ride after announcing his resignation on August 10, 2021 in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wing, File)
“Ms. Bennett's decision to drop the baseless lawsuit should be viewed as a complete capitulation and a desperate attempt to avoid facing mountains of exculpatory discovery — including contemporaneous texts and videos never obtained by the District Attorney's Office — that completely refute her allegations against her,” he said. Governor Cuomo in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“After falsely discrediting Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett abruptly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her testimony to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false, and that her allegations had no merit,” he said. “If New York State gives in to its public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and must require public disclosure of all evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone.”
Katz pushed back against Cuomo's notice of the claim in a statement to the Times Union, saying it had “no merit.”
“There is a long history of defamation lawsuits being used to silence and punish accusers of sexual harassment,” Katz said. “It is shameful that it appears Mr. Cuomo has now chosen to go down this path.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Katz for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Cuomo's notice alleges that Bennett “cynically used” conversations with Cuomo to “advance” her career and that her “false claims have materially contributed to a series of harms to Governor Cuomo.”
Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
