Ex-aide drops federal lawsuit against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A former aide to then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has dropped her federal sexual harassment lawsuit against him.

Charlotte Bennett was the second of several former aides to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. She says since the lawsuit was filed, Cuomo continued to harass her, demand "invasive" medical records, and subpoena people in her life as ways to punish her.

"It's a very unusual move for someone that thinks they have a legitimate lawsuit against an individual to drop that individual from the lawsuit to pursue the overall strategy," said local attorney Barry Covert, who has no connection to the Cuomo civil suit. "You only do that when you've figured out that the defendant has no liability."

Even though the federal lawsuit against Cuomo has been dropped, a similar lawsuit in State Court against New York state continues.

Bennett's attorneys say they're in settlement talks with the state.

Cuomo's attorneys are firing back and are calling the lawsuit "baseless," saying that Bennett is avoiding confrontation with evidence connected to the case, including texts and videos that Cuomo's attorneys say refute her claims.

"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," his attorneys said in a statement. "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."

Cuomo still faces various lawsuits related to his alleged inappropriate conduct during his time as governor. His legal fees are being paid for by taxpayers.

The withdrawal of the lawsuit is happening just one week before there was supposed to be a status conference on this case.