Charlotte Bennett, a former aide and one of the women accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, tellsCBS Evening News that his sexual harassment training was completed two years ago by someone on his staff.
“In 2019, he did not take the sexual harassment training,” Bennett said. “I was there. I heard [the office director] say, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this for you’ and making a joke about the fact that she was completing the training for him. And then I heard her at the end ask him to sign the certificate.”
Bennett, 25, is accusing Cuomo of making what she interpreted as sexual advances by questioning whether she thought age played a significant role in romantic relationship, while also allegedly commenting on his openness to getting involved with someone in their 20s. Bennett alleges this incident occurred when she was alone with Cuomo, 63, in the State Capitol office on June 5.
Bennett left her job as executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration in November. Two days before her departure, Bennett claims she spoke with Cuomo’s chief of staff about an encounter the week before where she felt like he crossed the line.
Bennett alleges Cuomo asked her if she had ever slept with older men, adding that he was willing to sleep with younger women. When asked about seeking an investigation into Cuomo’s alleged inappropriate behavior, she explained, “It felt to me like, if I got a new job, we didn’t have to investigate this. And I really did not want it to be investigated. I was terrified.”
Cuomo has stated that he “never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate,” pointing out that he requested an independent review into Bennett’s accusations.
