Brittany Commisso speaks out against Governor Andrew Cuomo during an exclusive interview with CBS.
Source: CBS
A New York executive assistant Andrew Cuomo said the embattled Democrat needed advice when describing his “sexually aggressive” moves that led her to file a criminal complaint last week.
“I think he needs to resign and I also think he needs advice,” said Brittany Commisso, 32, in an interview with CBS News that aired Monday.
“I think he needs professional help,” said Commisso, who was identified as “Executive Assistant # 1” without her name in an attorney general’s office bombing report, who concluded that 63-year-old Cuomo had sexually molested 11 women.
“You know, he has a lot of things to work through.”
The Commisso interview aired hours after the surprise resignation of Cuomo’s top aggressive advisor Melissa DeRosa, who is accused of retaliation against another accuser, and while the State Assembly Judiciary Committee awaited Cuomo’s evidence of an ongoing impeachment investigation.
On Monday, a senior lawyer, Roberta Kaplan, resigned as chairwoman of women’s rights group Time’s Up after outraged disclosure that she was recruited by Cuomo’s team to discredit the same accuser DeRosa targeted .
“We and they agree that this is the right and appropriate thing to do,” Time’s Up’s board of directors said in a statement on Kaplan’s resignation. Time’s Up was founded by hundreds of women in Hollywood to combat systemic sexual harassment in the film industry and other workplaces.
Kaplan is currently representing journalist E. Jean Carroll in a lawsuit accusing former President Donald Trump of defaming her by saying Carroll lied and was motivated by financial gain by claiming Trump was going to her Raped in the locker room of a Manhattan department store for many years.
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Carroll told CNBC in a written message Monday, “Robbie Kaplan is my attorney and will be my attorney forever!”
Cuomo flatly denied Commisso’s claims against him, telling investigators appointed by Attorney General Letitia James that Commisso was “very talkative,” “affectionate,” “friendly,” “flirtatious” and “sociable.”
His lawyer, Rita Glavin, told reporters last Friday, “The documentary evidence does not support what she said.” A spokesman for Cuomo did not immediately comment on the Commissio interview.
Commisso has told investigators that Cuomo rubbed her buttocks while taking a selfie photo at the governor’s official residence in Albany and that he grabbed her chest on another occasion last November after he grabbed her in November In 2020.
“I could tell the moment he hugged me that it was probably the most sexually aggressive way than any other hugs he’d given me,” she told CBS News.
“I remember exactly looking down, seeing his hand, which is a big hand, and thinking, oh my god. This is happening. It happened so quickly, he didn’t say anything. When I stopped, he just pulled “gone and went away.”
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference in New York City on May 10, 2021.
Maria Altaffer | Swimming pool | Getty Images
Commisso also said Cuomo faces legal consequences for his alleged actions towards her.
When asked why she filed a complaint against Cuomo with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office several days after her allegations were detailed in an attorney general’s bombing report, Commisso said, “Because it was the right thing to do.”
“The governor must be held accountable,” she said.
“What he did to me was a crime. He broke the law,” said Commisso.
At least five district attorneys are investigating Cuomo or have requested evidence from James’ report. Among them is the Albany Prosecutor’s office, which has been briefed on Commisso’s allegations.
Commisso told CBS that on other occasions Cuomo had hugged and kissed her in ways that she found uncomfortable.
“These are not hugs he would give his mother or brother,” said Commisso.
“These were hugs with the intention of achieving personal sexual satisfaction. Then they started hugs with kisses on the cheek. “
“And then at some point there was a hug and then, when he was about to kiss my cheek, he quickly turned his head and kissed my lips,” she said.
Commisso said she told several employees about his behavior in March after watching Cuomo at a press conference deny allegations that he sexually molested someone.
“He’s almost got that grin that he thinks he’s inviolable,” said Commisso. “That was the turning point. I broke down. I said he was lying. I felt like he said it to me personally … ‘I’ve never touched anyone inappropriately.'”
