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Charlotte Bennett, Mr Cuomo’s former assistant, told The Times in February that the governor, who is almost 40 years her senior, made sexual overtures while they were alone in his state Capitol office, him asking at one point if she had slept. with older men before.
Investigators questioned Ms Bennett for eight hours under oath in May, a statement that her lawyer, Debra Katz, described as “incredibly thorough and comprehensive.” Ms Bennett also provided investigators with more than “120 pages of contemporary records” intended to substantiate her claims, Ms Katz said.
Mr Cuomo, who initially apologized for making “people uncomfortable,” recently strongly denied any wrongdoing, saying he was eager to tell his side of the story. His aides appeared to discredit the investigation, suggesting it was motivated by Ms James’ political motives: she would be interested in running for governor.
The investigation is being conducted by outside lawyers to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. One of the attorneys has a background with Mr. Cuomo: Mr. Kim was the senior attorney for Preet Bharara, the former U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, when the office investigated Mr. Cuomo’s decision in 2014 to dissolve the Moreland Commission. , an anti-corruption sign.
In 2017, Mr. Kim became acting U.S. prosecutor for 10 months when President Donald J. Trump forced Mr. Bharara to resign. Meanwhile, Mr. Kim participated in the pre-trial preparation of the lawsuits against Joseph Percoco, a former close aide to the governor who was convicted of federal corruption charges in 2018.
The months-long wait for the attorney general’s report left the state capitol on hold, but it also gave Mr. Cuomo time to work to rehabilitate his image, stabilize his poll count and build support from elected officials and key constituencies, especially Black voters. He sought to present a semblance of normalcy by hosting press conferences and groundbreaking events to celebrate New York’s economic reopening, sometimes standing next to politicians who had previously called on him to step down.
Recently, he focused his posts on gun violence and public safety, an urgent issue for voters amid an increase in shootings in many major cities across the state. On Wednesday, he held a joint press conference on the subject with Eric Adams, the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York.
J. David Goodman contributed reporting.
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