Cuomo Accuser Gives First Interview, Says Governor ‘Broke The Law’

An executive assistant to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) who accused him of groping her inside the executive mansion is speaking out publicly for the first time.  

“The governor needs to be held accountable,” Brittany Commisso told “CBS This Morning” and the Albany Times-Union in a joint interview that is scheduled to be broadcast in full on Monday.

“What he did was a crime. He broke the law,” she says in a clip of the interview released on Sunday.

Commisso’s comments come after she filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo with the Albany Sheriff’s Office on Thursday. Commisso, in the interview, said, “It was the right thing to do.”

Commisso had previously only been identified as “Executive Assistant #1” in a report on sexual harassment claims against Cuomo completed by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James. In that report, Commisso said the governor reached under her blouse and groped her breast while they were alone at the governor’s mansion last year. 

She said he also groped her on New Year’s Eve in 2019, after he asked her to take a selfie with him inside of his office.

As she held up the camera, she said Cuomo “moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it. The rubbing lasted at least five seconds,” according to James’ report.

Commisso also accused the governor of regularly hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. She said he kissed her on the lips once, as well. 

When questioned as part of James’ investigation, Cuomo denied the allegations. He did say that he often hugs and kisses people, and may have kissed certain staff members on the lips without remembering whom.

Similar allegations against the governor from 10 other women were included in James’ report.