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Cuomo was 'trying to sleep with me,' 25-year-old accuser claims in TV interview
Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who accused him of sexual harassment, said during a televised interview Thursday night that she believed the 63-year-old governor propositioned her for sex during a workplace meeting.
"Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely," the 25-year-old former Cuomo aide told Norah O’Donnell of "CBS Evening News."
Later, she added: "I thought, he’s trying to sleep with me, the governor is trying to sleep with me. And I am deeply uncomfortable, and I have to get out of this room as soon as possible."
She said the governor, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, felt emboldened as his national profile rose amid his daily televised outbreak updates.
"I think he felt like he was untouchable in a lot of ways," she told O'Donnell.
In parts of the interview, she reiterated claims she made when she came forward with her accusations to the New York Times earlier in the week. She accused the governor of asking her if age difference mattered in a relationship and said he told her he was "fine" with anyone over 22 years old. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.
In other developments:
- Sean Hannity: Don't be fooled by the media's 'feigned moral outrage' surrounding Cuomo allegations
- Cuomo needs 1 more accuser before he's done, top NY Dem says
- Lindsey Boylan speaks out after coming forward with sexual harassment claim against Andrew Cuomo
- New Yorkers say Cuomo shouldn't resign, but his approval rating plummets
- Cuomo not resigning despite nearly 30 Dem, GOP NY lawmakers supporting removal
- Slate writer welcomes 'due process' for Cuomo after warning Americans 'should be terrified' of Kavanaugh
Cuomo advisers altered report on coronavirus nursing-home deaths: WSJ
Top advisers to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo influenced state health officials to remove data from a public report that showed coronavirus-related nursing-home deaths in the state had exceeded numbers previously acknowledged by the administration, a bombshell report says.
Details about the July report were disclosed Thursday night in a story first published by The Wall Street Journal.
The final report focused only on nursing-home residents who died inside those facilities and did not include nursing-home residents who were transferred to hospitals after becoming sick, the Journal reported.
That means the state’s reported tally of 6,432 nursing-home resident deaths was significantly lower than the actual nursing-home death toll, sources with knowledge of the state report’s preparation told the newspaper.
State officials now place the nursing-home and long-term-care facility death toll in New York at more than 15,000 residents, the Journal reported. The number represents deaths since March 2020 of residents confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus or presumed to have contracted it, the report said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Cuomo's future political ambitions 'shattered' by scandals, Miranda devone tells "America Reports'
- Charlie LeDuff on suing Whitmer for info on COVID nursing home death counts: 'I've been asking for months'
- Chris Cuomo tweet doubting Florida's COVID data reemerges amid brother's scandal
- Study finds link between coronavirus mortality risk and obesity
- Families of NY nursing home coronavirus victims say Cuomo sex scandal shouldn't overshadow seniors' deaths
Michelle Obama warns 'our democracy remains under attack' by state officials
Former first lady Michelle Obama on Thursday urged the Senate to pass a sweeping voting rights overhaul that received House approval this week, warning that "democracy remains under attack" from state officials she believes are attempting to suppress voter turnout.
Obama expressed support for House Resolution 1, also known as the "For the People Act."
If approved in the Senate, the bill would put nonpartisan commissions in charge of gerrymandering rather than party-controlled state legislatures, expand early voting, and ease restrictions on voter registration at the state level, among other measures.
GOP officials in Georgia, Arizona and many other states have introduced legislation to tighten voting laws. In a statement on behalf of her organization "When We All Vote," Obama praised record turnout during the 2020 presidential election but suggested that "too many leaders are working to reverse that progress."
H.R. 1 passed by a 220-210 vote along party lines. Senate Democrats will need to secure support from at least 10 Republicans in order to bypass the filibuster and pass the bill. CLICK HERE FOR MORE.
In other developments:
- Biden celebrates House passing HR 1, Dems' campaign bill, vows work to 'refine and advance' legislation
- Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson explains why he was only Dem to vote against massive HR 1 election bill
- House Democrats' HR 1 would create new public financing of congressional campaigns
- Pence rails against HR 1, laments Capitol riot prevented 'substantive discussion' on election integrity
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TODAY'S MUST-READS:
- Canceled by Amazon: Clarence Thomas, Michael Brown documentaries, books on gender top growing list
- 10 ex-aides of Meghan Markle, Prince Harry ‘queuing up’ to assist in bullying investigation: report
- Potential 2024 GOP hopefuls top list of Senate Republicans opposing Biden nominees
- Dr. Seuss book sales soar after 6 titles canceled for ‘racist’ imagery
- Biden told union leaders ‘I’m all for natural gas’: report
- Baltimore HS student fails all but 3 classes over 4 years, ranks near top half of class
THE LATEST FROM FOX BUSINESS:
- US job growth likely rose in February in rebound from slump
- China sets 2021 GDP growth target at over 6%
- Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan to offer employees paid time off for vaccine appointments
- Meghan Markle, Prince Harry: How much have the royals spent on Duke and Duchess of Sussex?
- Biden blocks $1,400 stimulus checks for 16M Americans after tightening income eligibility
- Smith & Wesson’s first time gun buyers drive 102% sales jump
#The Flashback: CLICK HERE to find out what happened on "This Day in History."
SOME PARTING WORDS
Tucker Carlson on Thursday night noted that a feared second insurrection at the U.S. Capitol failed to materialize.
Still, "Members of Congress were not taking any chances," Carlson said on "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "Many of them fled the Capitol today. House leaders rescheduled votes so that rank-and-file legislators could escape with their lives, if not with their dignity.
"We should be clear," Carlson continued. "This was not just partisan hysteria – Democrats and Republicans seemed united in their shared terror. We didn’t see a single person insurrect at the Capitol today and, in fact, anywhere else in the United States."
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