Former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, was forced to resign in August after revelations he sexually harassed 11 women since 2013.
The latest developments since this, however, have been in Cuomo’s favor. On Tuesday, a county prosecutor announced he wouldn’t be charged with crimes over two cases in which he kissed two women against their will.
Bad, but Not Criminal
One of the victims is a New York state trooper who was part of the then-governor’s security detail. Mimi Rocah, the District Attorney for Westchester County, made it clear there is evidence the victims’ accounts are true and Cuomo did kiss them forcibly.
However, she revealed in a statement her office ‘determined” it is unable to seek criminal charges against Cuomo because of the “statutory requirements” of New York’s criminal laws.
The report, which led to Cuomo’s ouster in August, was commissioned to independent investigators by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, a fellow Democrat.
It spanned 168 pages and was based on dozens of interviews and 74,000 “pieces of evidence.” James said the pressing of criminal charges against the former governor of New York would depend on the decisions of the prosecutors.
In her announcement, Worchester County DA Rocah stated her office’s decision not to press charges against Cuomo isn’t related to potential “civil liability,” since that is beyond its jurisdiction.
Rocah did praise the “women and witnesses” for their “bravery” as they came forward to support the investigating of Cuomo’s transgressions. She also vowed she and her office would be investigating any claims of wrongdoing, regardless of who the accused or the accusers might be.
Glad to see the fall of Andrew Cuomo is making the 2021 lists but do not forget about the over 15,000 dead seniors he tried to cover up because of his deadly decisions. I realize they don’t get “clicks” like the other gross stuff he did, but it deserves some ink.
— Janice Dean (@JaniceDean) December 28, 2021
In one of the two cases of Cuomo’s forcibly kissing of women, the victim, a state trooper whose identity hasn’t been revealed, was on duty in Mount Kisco, his home.
As she asked the then-governor whether he needed anything, he replied with the question of whether he could kiss her. She claimed later that she responded with “sure”, because she was afraid of the consequences if she refused.
Cuomo then kissed the state trooper on the cheek, and said something along the lines of not being supposed to do that.
In the second case, during a high school event at White Plains High School, Cuomo grabbed a woman by the arm, pulled her to him, and also kissed her on the cheek, supposedly as a means of greeting her.
Disgraced Cuomo Gets Emboldened
Tuesday’s “good news” for the disgraced former governor of New York came after last week, when a prosecutor from Nassau County announced there will be no criminal charges against Cuomo over his “unwanted touching” of the same female state trooper.
The inappropriate touching occurred during an event at Belmont Park back in September 2019. The state trooper told investigators Cuomo’s actions left her feeling “completely violated”.
The former NY governor appears to have been emboldened by last week’s announcement. Cuomo has been claiming the accusations and legal action against him are politically motivated, denying wrongdoing.
Last Thursday, a Cuomo spokesperson declared the original sexual harassment report by the office of NY AG Letitia James was simultaneously an “abuse of power” over political purposes, and “gross prosecutorial misconduct.”
Andrew Cuomo sexually assaulted dozens of women who worked for him but will not face criminal charges
However if he had taken a selfi in the Capital on January 6th he'd be in jail for the next 5 years— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) December 28, 2021
