Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking a gag order against the legal team of Charlotte Bennett, one of his sexual harassment accusers.
The move is aimed at preventing Bennett's lawyers from discussing the $28 million in taxpayer funds used to cover his legal defense and related cases. Cuomo's camp argues that he is legally entitled to have the state cover his defense costs related to his time in office. However, Bennett's lawyers have been highlighting the escalating legal expenses to potentially bias potential jurors and push for a settlement in her case.
"Such statements are gratuitous and highly prejudicial to Governor Cuomo [indeed, intentionally so]," stated Cuomo's lawyers, Theresa Trzaskoma and Rita Glavin, in a letter to Manhattan federal Judge Sarah Cave on December 3, as reported by The New York Post. The legal team is gearing up to question Bennett in a two-day deposition on December 18 and 19, a session expected to last at least 14 hours and involve questioning from other defendants' lawyers.
The list of defendants also includes former top Cuomo aides Melissa DeRosa, Judith Mogue, and Judith DesRosiers, who stand accused of aiding and abetting Cuomo. Bennett alleges that Cuomo made sexualized comments about her appearance, assigned her degrading tasks, and subjected her to intrusive questions about her personal life and history as a survivor of sexual assault, starting in early June 2020. She has labeled Cuomo a "danger" to women.
In a twist, Cuomo's legal team is attempting to shift the blame onto Bennett, alleging she exhibited "impulsive and reckless personal conduct" in the workplace and experienced a "personal meltdown." They argue that Cuomo was trying to assist her, rather than harassing her. However, Cuomo's vigorous defense is costing state taxpayers dearly.
Information obtained by The Post through a legal request reveals that state costs related to Cuomo's legal defense and responses to other investigations involving him and his administration have reached $28 million and continue to rise. The state has spent $16.3 million in defense costs for Cuomo and his former executive chamber officials, including $8.2 million in the ongoing "State Trooper 1 v. Cuomo" case and $8.1 million in the ongoing "Charlotte Bennett v. Cuomo" case, according to state Comptroller Tom DiNapolis office. An additional $11.7 million has been spent on legal representation related to the Cuomo sexual-harassment investigation, response to COVID-19 probes, and his Assembly impeachment proceedings.
Cuomo's lawyers have requested a protective order from Judge Cave to prohibit Bennett's counsel from making any further extrajudicial statements concerning defense costs in this matter. They have taken issue with comments made by the Bennett camp in a September New York Times article discussing the soaring legal costs involving Cuomo and a statement made by Bennett's lawyer, Deborah Katz, in a November 21 press release after a state judge refused summary judgement in a separate harassment lawsuit that Bennett filed in state court.
Cuomo's lawyers, Trzaskoma and Glavin, have accused Bennett's lawyers of using Cuomo's hefty legal tab to pressure Governor Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James to settle a separate case filed in state court. They also blame Bennett for court delays that have increased costs.
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi expressed outrage over the costs, but pointed the finger at AG James' "expensive" initial investigation of the sexual harassment accusations against Cuomo, which he claims are "proven to be demonstrably false." He added, "Trying to use defense costs as a way to create public pressure to force a settlement regardless of the merits is a cynical tactic that we're simply not going to fall prey to."
Bennett's lawyers have predictably opposed the gag order. They argue that there is no legal support for Cuomo's request for a protective order to gag Bennett's counsel. They describe Cuomo's proposed gag order as "extraordinary" and part of his "scorched earth defense," which they criticize as "absurd," a violation of their free speech rights, a "pretext to smear Ms. Bennett," and an attempt to deflect from his harassment.
Bennett's lawyers, Katz and Herbert Eisenberg, argue that discussing these costs "cannot reasonably be said to influence public perspective on defendants' liability for sexual harassment and retaliation." They point out that it was James' investigative report substantiating sexual misconduct claims made by several women against Cuomo, including Bennett, that led to his resignation in August 2021 under the threat of impeachment, although he continues to deny the accusations.
Cuomo's lawyers maintain that they are working to prove his innocence. They assert that none of Bennett's allegations will stand up against the "mountains of contemporaneous video and text message evidence" they now possess. They claim this evidence was never turned over to the state Office of Attorney General. "Governor Cuomo has no interest in settling this lawsuit. He never sexually harassed Ms. Bennett and he has the right to prove his innocence," they wrote.
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