Andrew Cuomo Subpoenas Sexual Harassment Accusers

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s lawyers have sent subpoenas to five women who accused him of sexual harassment as part of his defense against an unidentified state trooper who says he touched her inappropriately while she was on assignment to security detail.

The subpoenas were sent in March and April to Lindsey Boylan, Brittany Commisso, Virginia Limmiatis, Ana Liss, and Alyssa McGrath, five of the 11 women who said they were sexually harassed during Cuomo’s three terms in office, reported The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

The state trooper, known in court papers as Trooper 1, says Cuomo touched her on her back and stomach. The case cites a report by New York Attorney General Letitia James and says his alleged actions were part of a pattern of harassment of multiple women.

The subpoenas are seeking depositions from the five women, along with records of communications they had made with state investigators, fellow accusers, and members of the news media before and after they said publicly that Cuomo had harassed them, people familiar with the matter commented.

Boylan’s lawyer, Julie Gerchik, said the latest subpoena, coming after her client participated in two investigations, shows Cuomo has “no qualms about continuing his harassment of the women he abused and is using taxpayer dollars to do so.”

Cuomo has also been sued by former executive assistant Charlotte Bennett, who says he asked her about her sex life and if she had relationships with older men.

He has apologized for making her feel uncomfortable but denies some of her claims. His lawyers have moved to dismiss the case.

Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after James’ investigators released the conclusions of the harassment investigation, and while state lawmakers were proceeding in seeking his impeachment.

The lawmakers also were reviewing allegations that Cuomo misused state resources while producing his memoir of how he handled the COVID pandemic, and how his aides had edited a state Health Department report concerning COVID deaths in nursing homes.

Cuomo has apologized if his actions had made anyone feel uncomfortable, but denied touching anyone inappropriately. He has also claimed that James and the Democrats in the state Assembly who sought his impeachment were politically motivated.

The latest subpoenas come after his lawyers tried to subpoena James’s office and the state Assembly for records investigations. They objected and a decision is still pending on the matter.

Cuomo’s lawyers said in February they also want to call in State Police personnel who were present when Trooper 1 said she was harassed.

Cuomo has also filed a lawsuit against New York’s new ethics watchdog, which has revived an effort to pull back the millions of dollars he was paid for his pandemic memoir, for which he had a contract for $5.1 million.

In his lawsuit, he said the commission is unconstitutional, claiming it is too independent of the office of the governor.