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.
Image: 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.
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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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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”.
Lawyers for Luigi Mangione have called on a judge to block federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty against him.
Mangione’s legal team says the 27-year-old’s case has been turned into a “Marvel movie” after a failed bid by the US Justice Department to indict him on terrorism charges over the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson in New York on 4 December.
New York state judge Gregory Carro said there was no evidence that the killing, which took place as Mr Thompson walked into an investor conference at the New York Hilton Midtown hotel, amounted to a terrorist act.
But Judge Carro upheld second-degree murder charges, which suggest there was malicious intent – but not that it was premeditated.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi has called for Mangione to face capital punishment, describing the charges against him as a “premeditated cold-blooded assassination that shocked America”.
But in the new court filing, Mangione’s legal team argues federal prosecutors have “violated Mr Mangione’s constitutional and statutory rights” by “staging a dehumanizing, unconstitutional ‘perp walk’ where he was televised, videotaped, and photographed clambering out of a helicopter in shackles” on the way to his first court appearance.
The legal team, led by former Manhattan prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo, also claims the death penalty case has been “fatally prejudiced” after President Donald Trump commented on it on Fox News.
Despite laws that prohibit any pre-trial commentary that could prejudice the defendant’s right to a free trial, he told the network on Thursday: “Think about Mangione. He shot someone in the back, as clear as you’re looking at me or I’m looking at you.”
Image: UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson.
Pic: UnitedHealth Group/AP
The defence team’s 114-page court filing reads: “There is a high bar to dismissing an indictment due to pretrial publicity.
“However, there has never been a situation remotely like this one where prejudice has been so great against a death-eligible defendant.”
Federal prosecutors have until 31 October to respond to the documents.
Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all the state charges against him, which cannot result in the death penalty and only life imprisonment, unlike federal ones. He has also pleaded not guilty to the federal charges.
He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing in the state case on 1 December and the federal case on 5 December.
The 27-year-old was arrested five days after Mr Thompson was killed – when he was spotted at a McDonald’s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, around 230 miles west of New York City.
Journalists at the Pentagon have been told they could be barred if they gather or report information that officials haven’t approved first.
Reporters’ access to the iconic building, the headquarters of the US defence department, is also being curtailed.
Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, posted on X: “The ‘press’ does not run the Pentagon – the people do.
“The press is no longer allowed to roam the halls of a secure facility. Wear a badge and follow the rules – or go home.”
A memo announcing the changes was sent to reporters on Friday, informing them “information must be approved for public release by an appropriate authorizing official before it is released, even if it is unclassified”.
They must sign an agreement agreeing to the new rules or face having their press pass revoked.
Journalists’ groups said it was a dangerous move that would seriously restrict their ability to hold defence officials to account.
The National Press Club called it “a direct assault on independent journalism at the very place where independent scrutiny matters most: the US military”.
The Society of Professional Journalists said it “would deny the American people the transparency and accountability they deserve”.
“This policy reeks of prior restraint – the most egregious violation of press freedom under the First Amendment – and is a dangerous step toward government censorship,” it said.
“Attempts to silence the press under the guise of ‘security’ are part of a disturbing pattern of growing government hostility toward transparency and democratic norms.”
Image: The Pentagon is home to the newly rebranded Department of War
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The first year of US President Donald Trump’s second term has seen several embarrassing episodes for the Pentagon.
A journalist revealed in March that he had accidentally been included on a group chat, which included the defence secretary and vice president, discussing plans to attack Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The Pentagon said no classified information had been shared but opponents said it showed a worryingly lax approach that could endanger US troops.
Doubts were also raised about America’s bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites earlier this year after a leaked intelligence report suggested the attack had only set the regime back “by months”.
President Trump and the CIA both hit back hard against the report, with the president insisting the underground facilities had been “blown to kingdom come”.
A man has been killed and several other people injured in a shooting at a US country club hosting a wedding, police in New Hampshire have said.
Aerial pictures above the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua show emergency responders at the scene.
A suspect was detained at the scene by police officers who said “a single male had entered the club and fired several shots”.
Eyewitness reports said the country club was hosting a wedding, and diners were also eating at its restaurant when the suspect entered and began shooting people.
New Hampshire congresswoman Maggie Goodlander said in a statement she was “closely monitoring the tragic reports” and that her heart was with the victims, their families and the entire community.
Image: Ambulances park outside a hotel acting as a reunification centre after the shooting. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
At a news conference, Peter Hinkley, senior assistant attorney general of New Hampshire, said “people don’t think things like this happen on a Saturday night in Nashua in New Hampshire”.
Nashua is about 45 miles (70 kilometres) northwest of Boston, just across the Massachusetts border. It is the only city in America to be ranked Number 1 Best Place to Live by Money magazine twice.
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Forbes magazine ranked it America’s seventh most liveable city.
Attorney general John Formella and Nashua Police Department chief Kevin Rourke issued a statement:
“This evening officers responded to 911 calls from the Sky Meadow Country Club in Nashua for reports of gunshots.
“From investigation, a single adult male entered the club and fired several gunshots. One adult male was shot and killed, and several other people were wounded.”