In order to defend himself against a claim that he sexually harassed a state trooper, former governor Andrew Cuomo must pay his legal fees, a judge ordered on Friday.
Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 after being accused of sexual harassment, sued Attorney General Letitia James in August, claiming that she had broken the law by refusing to give him public funding for his defense.
The trooper allegedly made the claims while "operating within the extent of his position or duties," according to Cuomo.
Judge or Jury Has The Right To Decision
Last year, the unnamed trooper asked a federal court to rule that Cuomo and others had violated her civil rights.
She was a member of Cuomo's security detail and told investigators that he made inappropriate comments to her and occasionally brushed his palm or fingers over her back and stomach. For "serious mental agony and emotional suffering," damages are sought in the claim.
According to the New York Post, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shlomo Hagler stated that a judge or jury must decide whether or not Cuomo sexually harassed the state trooper and that his state-funded defense cannot be disproved.
Cuomo Refuted Every Allegation
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi issued a prepared statement in which he said that "from the beginning, every action Tish James has taken involving Governor Cuomo has amounted to a politicized abuse of authority, and every time one of them gets before a court of law, it unravels."
In a prepared statement, a representative for the attorney general stated that "although we disagree with the judge's ruling, we accept it. We are considering the choice and any possible following actions.
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after receiving numerous allegations of sexual harassment from women who claimed he had harassed them by giving them unwanted kisses or touches, making sexually suggestive comments about their appearance and love lives, or fostering a hostile work environment.
Cuomo has refuted every one of these accusations.
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