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Bennett was asked what made him think Cuomo was trying to sleep with her.
“Without saying it explicitly, he let me know that I was old enough for him and that he was alone,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the governor told him he was looking for a girlfriend and also asked her if she was sensitive to privacy. She said she was in Cuomo’s office last June under dictation when he made the remarks.
“And then he explains, at this point, that he’s looking for a girlfriend. He’s alone, he’s tired,” Bennett said.
“He asked me if I was having trouble enjoying being with someone because of my trauma,” Bennett added, explaining that she had previously told the governor that she had a history of sexual assault.
Bennett also said Cuomo asked him if age difference mattered in a relationship, saying he said “he’s okay with anyone over 22.”
She told The Times that she interpreted the exchange – which she said took place in June, as the state was embroiled in the fight against the pandemic – as what the newspaper called “clear openings. to a sexual relationship ”.
Bennett said she was ashamed at the thought of presenting her claims. “I feel like people are putting the onus on the woman to end this conversation,” Bennett said. “And by responding, I kind of engaged in that or activating it, when I was actually just terrified.”
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people uncomfortable. It was unintentional and I really and deeply apologize for it. that’s the truth, ”Cuomo said.
In a statement released Wednesday after Cuomo’s apology in which he did not mention Bennett’s name, Debra Katz, an attorney for Bennett, said the press conference was “full of lies and inaccurate information” and rejected Cuomo’s claim that he didn’t know. he made anyone uncomfortable.
“My client, Charlotte Bennett, immediately reported her sexual harassment behavior to her chief of staff and chief counsel. We are confident that they informed him of his complaint and hope that the Attorney General’s investigation will demonstrate that Cuomo administration officials act on Ms. Bennett’s serious allegations or to ensure that corrective action were taken, in violation of their legal requirements, ”Katz said.
Bennett said she watched Cuomo’s televised briefing.
“It’s not an apology. It’s not a question of feelings. It’s a question of his actions,” she said. “The point is, he was sexually harassing me and he didn’t apologize for sexually harassing me. And he can’t even use my name.”
CBS is scheduled to air another portion of Bennett’s interview Friday on “CBS This Morning.”
Bennett was the second woman to bring up sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo. Lindsey Boylan, a former assistant to the governor, claimed that in 2018 Cuomo kissed her on the lips following a one-on-one interview in her New York office.
“And I think it’s really unfortunate, but probably necessary,” she said.
Another woman, Anna Ruch, told The Times – in an account corroborated to CNN by a friend – that Cuomo made an unwelcome advance towards her at a crowded wedding reception in New York in 2019.
The ongoing investigation, however, could take months, and Cuomo has grabbed the spotlight at the press conference in a bid to push back calls for his immediate resignation.
“I never knew at the time that I was making someone uncomfortable,” he said.
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