Cuomo Plans Political Comeback After Devastating Sex Scandal, TV Ads Ready - Report

The results of the New York attorney general's investigation into Cuomo, released last August, revealed that the former NY governor sexually harassed at least 11 women. Some of the accusers initiated criminal complaints against him, but the cases were later dropped, with prosecutors saying there was reportedly no grounds to press criminal charges.

Andrew Cuomo is set to try to clear his reputation and return to politics as he prepares to broadcast several ads that say all the charges against him were dropped, the New York Post reported on Friday.

One of the ads, a 30-second video, reportedly contains TV fragments reporting about the outcome of the legal action, brought against Cuomo. “Political attacks won and New York lost a proven leader,” the video reportedly says.

“We’ve produced a number of ads and haven’t decided what we’re going to run yet,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told the New York Post.

The ads are expected to start airing on New York television stations on Monday, according to the newspaper.

The initiative has outraged his accusers and activists, who denounced the campaign as “a putrid lesson in shamelessness.” Former Cuomo staff member and alleged victim, Charlotte Bennett, tweeted that “Innocent men don’t need ads. Guilty, vindictive & narcissistic ones do, though.”

In January, Albany County Attorney David Soares dropped criminal charges against Cuomo, brought by one of his accusers and former Cuomo staffer Brittany Commisso. She alleged that the former governor harassed her in 2019-2020 and even put his hand under her blouse inside the Executive Mansion.

A complaint was also filed by another woman, known from the official report as “Trooper #1,” but in December, Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah decided not to push forward with charges against the governor either.

Three other prosecutors also dropped charges, but noted that investigators still find the plaintiffs’ accusations credible, which means Cuomo has not been “exonerated.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation into numerous sexual misconduct accusations in March and revealed the results of her inquiry in August, stating that the then-governor violated the law by “sexually harassing multiple women — including former and current state employees — by engaging in unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging, and making inappropriate comments.”

Cuomo, following calls for his resignation and impeachment from many members of the state legislature and other lawmakers, resigned in August, but denied the accusations, saying that the campaign against him was politically motivated.

Meanwhile, the former governor’s sex scandal has overshadowed criticism that he faced over his anti-pandemic response in NY. Nevertheless, there has been no official investigation report regarding Cuomo’s controversial handling of the COVID-19 spike in NY nursing homes.

Earlier disclosures showed that the real number of coronavirus-related deaths throughout spring and summer of 2020 had been concealed by Cuomo’s administration. Last month, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office announced it would not file criminal charges as “there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken.”