Charlotte Bennett Says Andrew Cuomo Sexually Harassed Her—and He’s Not Really Denying It
Saturday night, the New York Times published allegations from a second woman who says Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed her. Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to the governor, recounts a pattern of inappropriate conduct, including probing questions about her sex life. In one exchange, Bennett told the Times, Cuomo inquired into her interest in older men, while making clear he was willing to date a woman as young as her. Bennett’s contemporaneous text messages lend support to her account.
After the Times published its article, a series of New York politicians—including the lieutenant governor and the leading candidates for New York City’s mayor—called for an independent investigation into her allegations. Usually, I’d say that was exactly the right response. But here, I’m not so certain, for the simple reason that the governor doesn’t actually appear to dispute any of the facts in Bennett’s account. The question, then, should be simply whether those facts are enough to justify Cuomo’s resignation or removal.
Cuomo hasn’t explicitly confessed to harassing Bennett. But the statement he released Saturday night is most notable for what it doesn’t say: that Bennett’s account is inaccurate. The governor insists he tried to act as a “mentor” and “never made advances towards Ms. Bennett nor did [he] intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” That’s not a denial. There is no conflict between his story and hers: the governor might not have actually been trying to have sex with Bennett, and might not have consciously meant to transgress any boundaries, and still have said all the things Bennett reports. And those comments are textbook sexual harassment, regardless of Cuomo’s subjective intent.