Cuomo’s executive assistant accuses New York governor of groping her
An executive assistant to Andrew Cuomo has waived her right to anonymity, alleging the New York governor groped her under her shirt, hugged her and kissed her without consent.
Brittany Commisso was previously known as ‘Executive Assistant #1’ in an inquiry instigated by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
But the 32-year-old says she broke her anonymity because she wants Mr Cuomo to be held accountable for what she says are “crimes” committed against her.
Ms Commisso says she wants Mr Cuomo to be held accountable
Mr Cuomo, 63, denies any wrongdoing and has so far resisted calls to resign despite nearly 200 people complaining about his alleged sexual misconduct.
Brittany Commisso spoke to CBS and the Albany Times Union. She said Mr Cuomo’s behaviour towards her became progressively sexually suggestive after she started working with him and that it began with inappropriate hugging.
She said: “These are not hugs that he would give his mother or his brother. These were hugs with the intention of getting some personal sexual satisfaction out of.
“Then they started to be hugs and kisses on the cheek, and then there was at one point a hug and then when he went to go kiss me on the cheek he’d quickly turned his head and he kissed me on the lips.”
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‘This is not who I am’ – Cuomo’s sexual harassment denial
Commisso admitted that she did not say anything in response at the time.
She said: “People don’t understand that this is the governor of New York. There are troopers outside. They are not there to protect me, they are there to protect him.
“I felt as though if I did something to insult him, especially insult him in his own home, it wasn’t going to be him that’s going to get fired or in trouble.”
Ms Commisso also accused Mr Cuomo of touching her bottom while the pair were posing for a photograph together and claimed that on a separate occasion he put his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast.
She also identified herself as the complainant in a criminal investigation that has been opened against Mr Cuomo in Albany County, New York.
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Joe Biden calls on Andrew Cuomo to resign
Governor Cuomo said in a statement last week that he had “never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances”.
On Sunday, his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, announced her resignation after a report found he sexually harassed 11 women.
Last week, President Joe Biden called for Mr Cuomo to step down over the report’s findings.
Thousands of people gathered in various cities across the US as protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in all 50 states on Saturday.
Around 1,200 demonstrations were planned in locations including Washington DC, New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida – just miles away from where the US president has this weekend played golf.
The “Hands Off!” protests were against the Trump administration’s handling of government downsizing, human rights and the economy, among other issues.
In Washington DC, protesters streamed on the grass in front of the Washington Monument, where one person carried a banner which read: “Make democracy great again.”
Thousands gathered in Washington DC to rally against various Trump policies. Pic: AP
Pic: AP
Another protester took aim at Mr Trump‘s handling of Russia and Ukraine, with a placard that read: “Stop Putin’s puppets from destroying America.”
Tesla boss Mr Musk also featured on many signs due to his role in controversial government cuts as head of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Demonstrators in NYC. Pic: AP
People marching in Atlanta, Georgia. Pic: Reuters
A rally in Vermont. Pic: The Brattleboro Reformer via AP
Terry Klein, a retired biomedical scientist, said she drove to the rally to protest Mr Trump’s policies on “everything from immigration to the DOGE stuff to the tariffs this week, to education”.
“I mean, our whole country is under attack, all of our institutions, all the things that make America what it is,” she added.
A drone view of the protest at the Utah State Capitol building. Pic Reuters
A protester sports a Handmaid’s Tale costume. Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
Some at the various protests carried Ukrainian flags, while others sported rainbow attire and waved rainbow flags in support of the LGBTQ+ community.
Other protesters wore Palestinian keffiyeh scarves and carried “Free Palestine” signs.
Thousands marched in New York City’s midtown Manhattan and in Boston, Massachusetts, while hundreds gathered in the sunshine outside the Utah State Capitol building in Salt Lake City, and in the rain outside the Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.
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Mr Trump – who shook financial markets with his tariffs announcement this week – spent the day in Florida, playing a round of golf before returning to his Mar-a-Lago residence.
People protest in Manhattan. Pic: Reuters
Activists in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Pic: AP
Some four miles from Mar-a-Lago, more than 400 people gathered – and drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who held up signs including one which read: “Markets tank, Trump golfs.”
The White House has said Mr Trump plans to go golfing again on Sunday.
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