28 February 2022: Women's Groups Assail Cuomo After TV Ad Claiming Exoneration for Sexual Harassment

Cuomo posts TV ad to clear name as women's groups assail him

Andrew M. Cuomo is drawing fire from women's groups for what they say is a misleading television ad claiming Cuomo's vindication for sexual harassment allegations.

Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, said the television ads his team dubbed "Politics vs. the Law" will point out that "five separate district attorneys rejected the findings of the (attorney general's) bogus report."

But the district attorneys who declined to pursue criminal charges related to allegations that Cuomo had kissed, touched, groped or made inappropriate comments to women did not say they had "rejected the findings" of the Aug. 3 report by state Attorney General Letitia James' office. James released her report at a news conference during which she said that "multiple" state and federal laws had been violated.

The prosecutors said the alleged victims' accounts were credible but that they did not support criminal charges under New York law.

"We will continue to communicate the facts to New Yorkers: The (attorney general) knowingly and willfully ignored evidence of perjury, witness tampering and extortion, and hid exculpatory evidence when she misled the public last August," the statement issued by Azzopardi reads.

The women's groups fired back, casting Cuomo as a serial sexual harasser they say continues to deny responsibility and has been waging a months-long campaign to discredit the women who came forward.

"Multiple investigations have found the accounts of these women to be credible," the groups said in a statement. "The media should stop giving a platform to abusers like Cuomo. As evidenced by recent public polling, New Yorkers believe the women who bravely came forward about Cuomo’s abuse; they think Cuomo was right to leave office in disgrace. This attempt to claim exoneration won’t work."

The television ads and Cuomo's spokesman's statement confirm once again that Cuomo desperately needs better PR people and more legal help. If it's any consolation to the nine women's groups (which include #VoteProChoice, Amplify Her, Eleanor’s Legacy, The Feminist Institute, NY Birth Control Action Fund, NYC Black Women's Political Club, Vote Mama, WCLA - Choice Matters, and Women of Color for Progress), we think the ads aren't so much an attempt at a political comeback as they are a vehicle for trying to influence how future jurors in multiple civil lawsuits will decide those cases, which stand to cost Cuomo several million in legal bills and settlements.