Melissa DeRosa, Andrew Cuomo’s senior collaborator, resigns

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“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of New York for the past 10 years. The resilience, strength and optimism of New Yorkers in their most difficult times has inspired me every day. “said DeRosa, secretary to the governor. in a statement obtained by CNN.

“Personally, the past 2 years have been emotionally and mentally trying. I am eternally grateful to have been able to work with such talented and committed colleagues on behalf of our state,” she said in the post, which did not mention not Cuomo.

DeRosa’s resignation comes on the eve of a meeting of the State Assembly Judiciary Committee that could provide a timeline for Cuomo’s potential impeachment. The 38-year-old, who held the most senior office in the state, appeared in the August 3 report by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, in which investigators concluded Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former government employees. . The report detailed a “toxic” work environment under Cuomo and said that environment allowed for his allegedly harassing behavior to be overlooked. It also highlighted suspected cases of retaliation against at least one accuser.

Cuomo denied the allegations, saying last week that he “had never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.”

In February, DeRosa came under scrutiny for its role in the administration’s underreporting of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes last year.

In a private virtual conversation with lawmakers, DeRosa said the administration failed to provide them with the requested information months earlier because Cuomo’s team worried about a preliminary Justice Department investigation. former President Donald Trump, according to a transcript of the conversation which was subsequently released by the governor’s office.

“And basically we froze,” DeRosa told Democrats on the call, “because we were in a position then where we didn’t know if what we were going to give to the Justice Department or what we were giving guys what we start to say this was going to be used against us when we weren’t sure if there was gonna be an investigation. “

DeRosa accused Trump of turning the nursing home issue into “political football” and then leading a “political hack” at the Justice Department to open an investigation into New York and other states ruled by the Democrats.

A different report from James’ office released in January found that New York had underreported deaths from Covid-19 among nursing home residents by about 50%.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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