It was reported by ConservatveBrief that the district attorney in Albany County has announced that once again, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will skate on charges he was sexually inappropriate with a woman. The New York Post reported on Monday that “Albany County District Attorney David Soares is expected to drop criminal charges of forcible touching against disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo days before he was to be arraigned.”
Cuomo was scheduled to be arraigned in Albany City Court on Friday for allegations that he groped Brittany Commisso, a former staffer, in 2020.
The Daily Wire added:
Commisso, according to the Times-Union, wanted to pursue charges against Cuomo, but was told during a meeting with prosecutors Monday afternoon “that they were planning to invoke their discretion not to move forward, in part, because of the manner in which the criminal complaint had been filed, according to a person briefed on the matter.”
Commisso’s attorney, Brian Premo, said in a statement Tuesday morning that his client “had no control over the filing or prosecution of criminal charges.”
“She had no authority or voice in those decisions,” Premo said. “The only thing she has any power over is her resolution to continue to speak the truth and seek justice in an appropriate civil action, which she will do in due course.”
According to Commisso, Cuomo pulled her close for a hug in November 2020 but when he did, he reached under her blouse and fondled a breast.
The Times-Union added:
The criminal case involving Commisso’s allegations began on Oct. 28 when a summons charging Cuomo with forcible touching was issued by an Albany City Court judge. The criminal complaint was issued after an investigator with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office went to City Court and presented evidence against Cuomo to a judge, including a sworn affidavit from the investigator.
The summons was issued without the knowledge of the district attorney’s office, which had been conducting a separate investigation of Commisso’s allegations, or the knowledge of Commisso’s attorney. The sheriff’s department had gathered evidence using search warrants — including electronic records they said supported the woman’s account of her Dec. 7, 2020, visit to the mansion — while the district attorney’s office had been relying on grand jury subpoenas.
The judge issued a summons against Cuomo a day before members of the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices were scheduled to meet to evaluate the progress of their respective investigations. That meeting was canceled after the summons was issued.
The Albany DA is the second to drop charges against Cuomo, despite an earlier finding by New York Attorney General Letitia James that he violated both federal and state laws regarding several allegations of sexually inappropriate contact with nearly a dozen women.
