A New York judge tore into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo Tuesday for using millions in taxpayer cash to defend himself against sexual harassment allegations \u2014 as the now-mayoral candidate tries to launder his tarnished public image.<\/p>\n
The scorching slapdown came as Albany Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman officially dismissed a lawsuit by Cuomo\u2019s one-time executive assistant Brittany Commisso against the state, which settled the case for $450,000 last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cCuomo has not advanced any viable argument for why the taxpayers of this state should continue to foot the bill for his continued use of civil litigation discovery devices to further his efforts to resurrect his public image,\u201d Hartman wrote.<\/p>\n Andrew Cuomo\u2019s former executive assistant Brittany Commisso will receive a $450,000 settlement in a sexual harassment case.<\/p>\n Cuomo was a separate party in the case and fought to keep it from being dismissed.<\/p>\n Hartman rubberstamped the case\u2019s end, but not without excoriating Cuomo for burning through New Yorkers\u2019 money to fund his aggressive legal defense<\/a>.<\/p>\n Taxpayers have shelled out at least $20 million as Cuomo fights the sexual harassment cases, according to state comptroller\u2019s office data \u2014 and drew queasy condemnations for his belligerent legal defense, which included seeking one accuser\u2019s gynecological records<\/a>.<\/p>\n The taxpayer outlay for Cuomo\u2019s legal bills overall is roughly $60 million<\/a>, including probes into the then-gov\u2019s handling of the COVID pandemic, his infamous $5 million pandemic book deal and other fees related to defending state agencies.<\/p>\n Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 amid the flurry of sexual harassment accusations that were bolstered by a damning investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James<\/a>. <\/p>\n The three-term Democrat has vigorously denied the accusations and contends James\u2019 probe was a political hit job.<\/p>\n Cuomo, who is running for mayor, has denied sexual harassment accusations. Robert Miller<\/p>\n After Commisso and several other women sued Cuomo, he had the state pick up the tab for his legal defense because he had served as governor when the accusations unfolded.<\/p>\n Commisso\u2019s case alone has cost taxpayers at least $724,000, the comptroller\u2019s office data shows.<\/p>\n Cuomo had tried to convince the judge to release some of Commisso\u2019s text messages that he claimed would cast doubt on her accusations \u2014 which included that he groped her inside the Executive Mansion<\/a>.<\/p>\n New York taxpayers have shelled out roughly $20 million for Cuomo\u2019s legal defense in sexual harassment lawsuits.<\/p>\n Hartman, however, was unmoved by Cuomo seeking \u201cpublic vindication\u201d ahead of New York City\u2019s November mayoral election, in which he\u2019s running as an independent after a humiliating loss to Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Cuomo\u2019s argument goes, because of his present political aspirations, these text messages must be unsealed so that there may be a verdict in the court of public opinion about the propriety of plaintiff\u2019s claims in this action,\u201d the judge wrote.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \u201cCuomo\u2019s desire to \u2018out\u2019 plaintiff\u2019s text messages in the hopes of obtaining public vindication heading into the 2025 New York City Mayoral general election does not establish prejudice\u00a0that would justify denial of plaintiff\u2019s motion.\u201d<\/p>\n