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Gov. Andrew Cuomo ‘groping’ accuser reveals identity in new interview

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Andrew Cuomo’s accuser has revealed her identity and said she wants the New York Governor held responsible after he “cupped her breasts”.

Former aide Brittany Commisso, 32, told CBS This Morning and the Albany Times Union she had filed a complaint, which is now a criminal investigation, because “it was the right thing to do,” according to an excerpt released Sunday. Commisso said: “The governor needs to be held accountable. What he did to me was a crime. He broke the law.” Andrew Cuomo, 63, has repeatedly denied he ever “touched anyone inappropriately.”

New York State Attorney General Letitia James released a report Tuesday that accused him of sexually harassing 11 women, including nine current and former state workers. In the 168-page report, Commisso is referred to as “Executive Assistant #1”.

The report details that Commisso testified under oath that Cuomo reached under her blouse and molested her while they were at the Executive Mansion in Albany last month. “I mean it was – he was like cupping my breast. He cupped my breast,” she told investigators. She added: “I in no way, shape or form invited that nor did I ask for it. I didn’t want it. I feel like I was being taken advantage of.”

The alleged groping was the culmination of a series of “offensive interactions,” according to the report. The allegations also include Cuomo “touching and grabbing of [Commisso’s] butt during hugs and, on one occasion, while taking selfies with him,” the report details.

According to James’ report, Brittany Commisso “repeatedly testified that she felt she had to tolerate the Governor’s physical advances and suggestive comments because she feared the repercussions if she did not.” She also “testified that she needed the income (including the overtime pay received from working on weekends), particularly as she was going through a divorce and was focused on not risking losing her job.”

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson – who last month succeeded Cuomo as chairman of the National Governors Association – has added his voice to the calls for Cuomo to step down. On Sunday he said his predecessor “needs to resign” over Commisso’s allegations, which he said “could not be more serious.”

“No woman should have to go to the workplace and have to choose between a paycheck and being assaulted,” Hutchinson told CBS’ Face the Nation. “It’s a sad circumstance, but that was a very credible review and the allegations are very serious.”

ARTICLE: PAUL MURDOCH

MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: THE PROJECTS WORLD

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Paul Murdoch

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

Paul, 37, is from Scotland in the UK, but currently lives and works in Bangkok. Paul has worked in different industries such as telemarketing, retail, hospitality, farming, insurance, and teaching, where he works now. He teaches at an all-girls High School in Bangkok. “It’s a lot of work, but I love my job.” Paul has an active interest in politics. His reason for writing for FBA is to offer people the facts and allow them to make up their own minds. Whilst he believes opinion columns have their place, it is also important that people can have accurate news with no bias.

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