Executive assistant who filed Cuomo sexual conduct complaint speaks out
The woman who filed a criminal complaint against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo alleging he engaged in illegal sexual conduct has come forward publicly for the first time.
Brittany Commisso was previously identified only as âExecutive Assistant #1â³ in a report released on Tuesday by state Attorney-General Letitia James after a lengthy investigation into numerous sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has denied accusations of sexual harassment.Credit:AP
On Thursday, Commisso also filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo with the Albany County Sheriffâs Office, but had remained anonymous.
In a joint interview with CBSâs This Morning and the Albany Times Union that will air on Monday, Commisso revealed herself to be âExecutive Assistant #1.â A preview of the interview was shown Sunday on CBSâs Face the Nation.
When asked why she had filed the criminal complaint against Cuomo, Commisso told CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan that âit was the right thing to do.â
âThe Governor needs to be held accountable,â Commisso said.
When asked to clarify if that meant seeing Cuomo charged with a crime, Commisso nodded in the affirmative.
âWhat he did to me was a crime,â she told Duncan. âHe broke the law.â
According to the Attorney-Generalâs report, Commisso told investigators that Cuomo harassed her both verbally and physically, including groping her breast in the Governorâs mansion in Albany. Cuomo has denied the allegations.
AdvertisementCommisso also alleges that Cuomo told her it was âabout time you showed some legâ when she wore a dress, and later asked if she had kissed or âfooled aroundâ with someone other than her husband.
At one point, the Governor allegedly said to Commisso words to the effect of, âIf you were single, the things I would do to you,â according to the Attorney-Generalâs report.
Cuomoâs attorney casts doubt on allegationIn one incident, he allegedly asked her to take a selfie with him and âmoved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it,â the report said. Commisso told investigators she was shaking so much that the photos were blurry.
In November, Commisso was dispatched to assist Cuomo at the executive mansion, according to the report. As she was leaving, he slammed the door shut and slid his hand up her blouse, cupping her breast, according to the investigation.
âI remember thinking to myself who â" I knew what just went on, I knew and he knew too that was wrong,â she told investigators. âAnd that I in no way, shape or form invited that nor did I ask for it. I didnât want it. I feel like I was being taken advantage of.â
Commisso told investigators from the Attorney-Generalâs office that she planned to take Cuomoâs actions âto her graveâ but grew upset after hearing him deny inappropriately touching women.
On Friday, a spokesman for the Governor reiterated Cuomoâs denial that he groped the assistant and said that the office notified authorities after she told a supervisor about her experience.
âAs we said previously, we proactively made a referral nearly four months ago in accordance with state policies,â said Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the Governor.
Cuomoâs attorney Rita Glavin questioned the assistantâs account of the groping in a news conference on Friday. She said a reconstruction of the events on November 16, a possible date of the incident given in the report, showed that the assistant was on a different floor from the Governor for much of the day and that she did not leave abruptly, but offered to continue working late at the mansion.
The Attorney-Generalâs report notes that the assistant was not certain of the date of the incident, but Glavin said that records show that November 16 was the only day that month that Commisso entered the mansion.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple vowed on Saturday that his office would conduct a âvery comprehensive investigationâ into the criminal complaint filed against Cuomo, and took pains to keep Commissoâs identity secret during a news conference.
Apple also said his investigators would not be rushed or swayed either way by the high-profile nature of the case.
âWe treat victims the same. We investigate the same. This one has more eyes on it,â Apple said on Saturday. âIâm not going to rush it because of who [Cuomo] is and Iâm not going to delay it because of who he is.â
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