Former New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's sexual harassment accuser drops federal lawsuit

A former staffer who accused ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment has withdrawn her federal lawsuit against him, according to court records.

A voluntary notice of dismissal without prejudice was filed on Monday, Dec. 9 by attorneys for Charlotte Bennett, who filed suit against her onetime boss in 2022.

Bennet dropped her lawsuit on the eve of her deposition, Bennett's attorney, Debra Katz of Katz Banks Kumin wrote in a release.

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Richard Azzopardi, a rep for Cuomo, praised Bennett's decision, saying that her claims "falsely smeared" the former governor "for years."

"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," he said, in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

"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," he said. "If New York State does give in to her public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and should require the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone."

In a statement posted on their website, Bennett’s attorneys said they opted to dismiss the case to end Cuomo’s continued harassment of their client.

"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," Katz wrote. "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."

Her attorneys said that Bennett will continue "seeking justice" with a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against New York State.

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"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…" Katz said. "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 Jan 2022 opinion report from The Washington Post pointed to Bennett's alleged history of falsifying sexual harassment reports.

A 2017 federal lawsuit was dropped against a fellow student at New York's Hamilton College. Bennett was later identified as a student.

According to the complaint in John Doe v. Hamilton College, "Sally Smith" — Bennett’s pseudonym — filed the claim against the plaintiff "knowing it was false, and knowing there was evidence of its falsity." 

The suit also alleged that there was a recording in which "Smith" stated that "Doe" "did not sexually assault her." 

She was not a defendant in the case, which Hamilton settled quickly on undisclosed terms after "Doe" was barred from campus.

Cuomo's former secretary, Melissa DeRosa, slammed Bennett on the Cats & Cosby podcast with John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby.

"On the eve of her deposition, seemingly out of nowhere, she unilaterally dismisses her case. Doesn't want to go under oath. So you tell me, what does that look like? What does that say when someone who has gone on national television, sat for interview with the New York Times and helped take down duly elected governor who turns around and sues him and a number of other people who did absolutely nothing wrong for money cannot sit or will not for deposition under oath."

"It was crazy and a lot of lawyers I speak with say it is unprecedented," she said.

DeRosa said that Bennett's dropping the lawsuit "continues to blow" her mind, saying that it is an example of the weaponization of the justice department.

"It was truly shocking, she's getting ready to be disposed of and out-of-nowhere she pulls her lawsuit,' she said. "It continues to blow my mind. If I hadn't lived it. If I hadn't written a book about it. If I hadn't gone through it, you couldn't make it up. Movie writers could not script what has gone on here in New York and the abuse of the justice system and what happened to Gov. Cuomo, through all this weaponized 'Me Too' hysteria."

The former Cuomo secretary pointed to the New York Time's unfair coverage of Bennett.

"The crazy thing, the New York Times who put this woman on the map, who broke the story, put it on the front page and ruined a man's life, ruined Gov. Cuomo's life and the pain it caused his family. They didn't even cover that Charlotte Bennett dismissed her own lawsuit yesterday," she said.

Bennett said in the lawsuit that Cuomo "subjected her to sexualized comments about her appearance" and "assigned her humiliating and demeaning tasks." 

She also said the former governor allegedly "subjected her to invasive and unwanted questions about her personal life, romantic and sexual relationships, and history as a survivor of sexual assault."

On Bennett's first full day of her job on May 16, 2019, the lawsuit alleged that Cuomo "called her into his office" and asked a series of questions, which eventually pertained to personal relationships. Cuomo allegedly asked the new employee if she currently had a boyfriend and inquired about the length of her longest romantic relationship.

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Bennett's lawsuit describes the questions as both "inappropriate" and said they made her "uncomfortable."

After Cuomo allegedly asked Bennett to begin traveling with him, he allegedly asked her a series of questions about her personal life, to which she responded "weightlifting, skiing, and running."

Cuomo allegedly then asked how much weight Bennett could bench press as well as how many pushups she had the ability to do. He then challenged her to a "pushup competition," the lawsuit alleges.

Bennett also alleges Cuomo made "sexual advances" toward her, and cited a June 25, 2020, incident. 

She said in the lawsuit that while Cuomo was discussing a proposal on police reform, he said that the way Charlotte's mask moved in and out when she breathes reminded him of the monsters in "Predator," the movie. 

The lawsuit states that Cuomo allegedly followed-up by saying "If I were investigated for sexual harassment, I would have to say I told her she looked like a monster."

She alleges in the lawsuit that former Chief of Staff Jill DesRosiers; former Secretary Melissa DeRosa; and Special Counsel Judith Mogul all "aided and abetted" the sexual harassment. 

When Bennett reported Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment to DesRosiers, the lawsuit alleges that she was transferred to an "inferior position" on the Executive Chamber's health policy team.

The lawsuit also alleges that Cuomo "embarked on a campaign to publicly cast doubt" on the allegations brought by Bennett and other women after they cooperated with the probe by state Attorney General Letitia James.

Bennett, according to the lawsuit, experiences "near debilitating anxiety," symptoms of depression, and began suffering from a "chronic neurological disorder" over what she says was a "direct result" of Cuomo's alleged harassment.

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Bennett said in a statement that her career as a public servant was impacted due to Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment.

"My career as a public servant was abruptly cut short because of Governor Cuomo’s and his top aides’ sexual harassment and retaliation against me after I complained about Governor Cuomo’s misconduct. They must all be held accountable for their actions," Bennett said.