Cuomo Sues Bennett for Defamation
By Dan Murphy
Charlotte Bennett, who made news in 2021 when she came forward with an allegation of sexual harassment against then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, recently withdrew her lawsuit against Cuomo.
Bennett, a graduate of Katonah-Lewisboro High School and now 28, was employed in Governor Cuomo’s office and was one of several female employees of NY State and Cuomo whose allegations forced Cuomo to resign.
Bennett had a history of working for women’s rights organizations in Westchester, including Hope’s Door in Pleasantville.
Bennett worked in three capacities for Cuomo from 2019 to 2020 as his special assistant, executive assistant, and policy advisor.
Bennett told NY Times reporter Jesse Mckinley that on June 5, 2020, she was alone with Cuomo in Albany when he asked her whether age was a factor in a relationship. He added that he was open to a relationship with a woman in her 20s. Bennett said that while Cuomo never touched her, “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the Times. “And I was wondering how I would get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”
Bennett’s attorney, Debra Katz, issued the following statement.
“Since Ms. Bennett filed suit in federal court in September 2022, former Governor Cuomo has used every opportunity to harass our client with an astonishing number of invasive discovery requests and outrageous statements in pleadings to embarrass and humiliate her. These include requests for medical records for unrelated specialists, including gynecologists, optometrists, and others, and medical records dating back more than ten years from when she was a minor.
“This fishing expedition was designed to dig up material to smear our client and distract from the fact that Mr. Cuomo did, as the New York Attorney General’s Office concluded after a lengthy investigation, sexually harass Ms. Bennett and at least 11 other women. It is also important not to lose sight of the fact that before engaging in his multi-year, multi-million dollar legal war against Ms. Bennett— funded by N.Y. State taxpayers— Mr. Cuomo apologized for his behavior.
“At a March 2021 press conference, he apologized for “making anyone feel uncomfortable” and for “whatever pain I caused anyone”[1] and said, “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry.”[2] His apologies were empty.
“From the beginning, this litigation has been about securing justice for Ms. Bennett. For years since she dared to come forward with allegations against Mr. Cuomo, Ms. Bennett has bravely withstood inflammatory and false assertions about her character and conduct. She has been forced to fend off increasingly invasive documents and deposition subpoenas sent to her parents, family, close friends, and college. Mr. Cuomo has used these legal proceedings to punish Ms. Bennett and others who reported his sexual harassment and to cause more harm to her, all at the expense of New York taxpayers.
“On behalf of Ms. Bennett and in support of all who have faced sexual harassment by powerful men like former Governor Cuomo, we will continue to seek justice in our action against the State of New York. We are currently engaged in settlement discussions with the State of New York and former Governor Cuomo, who threatened to interfere with that process in his most recent letter to the federal court. In dismissing the federal case, we thus hope that our client will be able to resolve this dispute and finally be made whole for all the damage Mr. Cuomo and his agents caused her.”
A Statement from Charlotte Bennett reads: “Former Governor Andrew Cuomo can no longer use this lawsuit to harass me and my family. His abusive filings and invasive subpoenas are meant to humiliate and retaliate against me and those who have supported me over the last five years of this living nightmare. Mr. Cuomo’s letter to the Court last week is another example of this, and I have had enough.
“Throughout this harrowing two-year case, I’ve many times believed that I’d be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends. I desperately need to live my life. That’s the choice I am making today.”
Ms. Bennett’s case in State court against the State of New York, which was her employer, will proceed.
Cuomo’s attorneys, Rita Glavin, and Theresa Trzaskoma, stated, “Ms. Bennett’s decision to drop her baseless lawsuit should be viewed as a complete capitulation and a desperate attempt to avoid being confronted with the mountains of exculpatory discovery—including contemporaneous texts and videos that the AG’s office never obtained—that completely refute her claims against Governor Cuomo,” reads a statement from Cuomo’s legal team.
“After falsely smearing Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett suddenly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false and her claims had no merit. If New York State does give in to her public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits. It should require the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone.”
Days after Bennett announced that she was withdrawing her suit against Cuomo, Cuomo filed legal papers that indicate he is moving forward with a defamation lawsuit against Bennett.
“The nature of this action is to recover compensatory and punitive damages for the serious injuries and losses that Governor Cuomo has suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of the December 9, 2024, false statement by Bennett and her agents that Governor Cuomo “sexually harassed” Bennett (the “December 9 Defamatory Statement”).
Bennett’s agents tweeted this statement on December 9, 2024, with the headline: “Debra Katz and Charlotte Bennett issued statements on news that Bennett voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the SDNY against Andrew Cuomo, who sexually harassed her.”
Bennett reposted her agents’ tweet, which has garnered over 90,000 views. The December 9 Defamatory Statement—which was intended to be and was widely disseminated and which was made in the wake of Bennett and her agents’ numerous prior public accusations against Governor Cuomo—was false and defamatory, and Bennett made it knowing full well that it was false and intended to harm Governor Cuomo.
Katz called Cuomo’s actions, “shameful that Mr. Cuomo has now chosen to go down that path.” Many New York Democrats feel the same way and do not find the former Governor’s actions to be an offer of peace with the many in the party who don’t want Cuomo to make a political comeback. Cuomo is rumored to be preparing a run for NYC Mayor.
“If Andrew wants to mend fences, this isn’t how. It’s an indication that he plans to operate in the same way as he did when he was Governor. Take it or leave it and play hardball.
Many Westchester Democrats called for Cuomo to resign after the allegations of Bennett and others came out. An independent report made for NYS Attorney General Letitia James found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. The US Department of Justice conducted a federal investigation which found that Cuomo harassed 13 women.
Cuomo has disputed both reports and has never been charged with a crime.
Some democrats wonder how he can run and win as a democrat, with so many still not willing to forgive and forget. Most notably, AG James and Governor Kathy Hochul.
Cuomo recently changed his voter registration last year from Westchester County, Purchase, to New York City.
