Albows, n – A judge rejected the attempt by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to extend a legal battle funded by taxpayers with a woman who accused him of sexual assault, claiming that it was not in the public interest of continuing to plead in order to repair the reputation of the Democrat as he presents himself for the mayor.
“Cuomo has not advanced any viable argument on the reasons why the taxpayers of this State should continue to defend the bill for its continuous use of civil disputes discovery in order to continue its efforts to resuscitate its public image,” wrote the Supreme State Judge, Denise Hartman, in a decision published online on Monday.
The decision comes more than a month after New York agreed to pay $ 450,000 to settle a legal action by Brittany Commisso, an ex-like that alleged that Cuomo had sexually harassed him and groped while he was in power. Cuomo, who denied the allegations, resigned from his post as governor in 2021 after a report by the State Attorney General determined that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Cuomo, co-defender of the state, opposed the request of commisso to stop the trial. Likewise, he sought to make public text messages produced under the discovery. He claims to refute the allegations of commisso. Cuomo’s lawyer Rita Glavin, told a judge that the end of the case was a question “of enormous public interest” while Cuomo presents himself for the mayor.
Hartman authorized Commisso to abandon the civil prosecution and refused Cuomo’s request on the texts.
Cuomo presents himself for the mayor as independent after losing the democratic primary at Zohran Mamdani of more than 12 percentage points.
With the race to warm up this summer, the republican candidate Curtis Sliwa has referred Cuomo on allegations of sexual harassment. And the outgoing mayor Eric Adams, who also presents himself as an independent whistling, recently put in chairs of journalists during a press conference. Adams explained that they were intended for journalists interviewing Cuomo, in case they are to ask for help.
A Cuomo spokesman said on Tuesday that the public deserved to see what’s in the texts.
“Governor Cuomo will continue to fight for the publication of all the evidence because it shows that he has sexually harassed anyone and further discredits the AG political report. Limit evidence and let the public decide,” said Rich Azzopardi in a statement.
Commisso filed his trial at the end of 2023, just before the expiration of the adult survivors law, a law which created a one -year suspension of the usual period to pursue an alleged sexual assault. Later, she filed a criminal complaint accusing Cuomo of having groped her, but a local district prosecutor refused to continue, citing the lack of sufficient evidence.
The Associated Press generally does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they decide to tell their stories publicly, as commissioned.
