Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is poised to embark on a legal battle against Charlotte Bennett, one of the women who accused him of sexual harassment. This development follows Bennett's voluntary withdrawal of her federal lawsuit against Cuomo in December. The potential defamation lawsuit was signaled through court papers filed by Cuomo's attorneys, Theresa Trzaskoma and Rita Glavin. The legal documents claim that Bennett has continued to make false and defamatory statements against the ex-governor and specifically reference a reposted tweet that reached over 90,000 views, which they assert Bennett knew was misleading and intended to damage Cuomo's reputation.
The controversy arrives amid reports that New York State has reached a $450,000 settlement with Bennett over her allegations that the state did not adequately protect her from harassment. This settlement is a fraction of the more than $9 million spent defending Cuomo and the state against claims brought forward by Bennett. Cuomo's legal team has criticized an investigative report by State Attorney General Letitia James, which found Cuomo had acted inappropriately towards 11 women, including Bennett and a state trooper, labeling the report as a "hit job" and contending that the accusations have not been substantiated in civil or criminal court.
In a court filing, Cuomo's lawyers stated, "Despite Bennett’s gamesmanship in withdrawing her federal lawsuit before she was required to admit under oath that she had lied about her interactions with Governor Cuomo, Governor Cuomo fully intends to clear his name and to ensure that Bennett and her agents never again repeat the falsehood that he sexually harassed Bennett." This stance appears at odds with Cuomo’s own apology in February 2021 where he admitted to making people feel uncomfortable, though he stated it was unintentional.
The threat of legal action comes as New York legislators consider bills to make it tougher for accused sexual harassers to sue their alleged victims for defamation. The proposed Speak Your Truth Act, for example, would require accusers who lose defamation cases to pay all legal expenses of defendants, a measure already enacted in California and under consideration in 15 other states. Another bill seeks to safeguard alleged victims of employment discrimination, including harassment, from libel or defamation suits after filing internal complaints. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes criticized Cuomo's potential lawsuit as a tactic to silence victims, a sentiment echoed by California attorney Victoria Burke and Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group.
Cuomo's team, however, has dismissed the proposed bills, with campaign spokesman Richard Azzopardi defending Cuomo’s right to legal action against "discredited claims." Bennett initially filed her federal lawsuit in September 2022 but dropped the case in December shortly before her scheduled deposition. Cuomo has maintained that the lawsuit was politically motivated and the settlement by the state was merely to avoid the costs of litigation.
The issue of legal retaliation in cases of sexual harassment is not unique to Cuomo; former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer also filed a defamation suit against an accuser. While Stringer’s campaign has not commented on the pending legislation, Bennett’s representatives have yet to respond to requests for comment.
