On March 3, 2021, Commisso started her allegations, after she and her coworkers watched Cuomos press conference when he said he never touched any woman inappropriately. She has also accused Cuomo of reaching under her blouse to grope her breast during an incident at the Executive Mansion in Albany last year. "These were not hugs that he would give his mother or his brother," Commisso said. And that right thing is to resign and to tell the truth.". Brittany Commisso (born in 1989; Age: 32 years old) is an American Executive Assistant #1 from New York.She is one of the accusers of Andrew Cuomo who works as the governor of New York since 2011. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seen during a press conference on March 2, 2020 in New York City.. I definitely remember wearing a blouse that when you looked down you could see the top of my bra. Her selfie story is incongruent with facts and is nonsensical. He has spent 40 years in public life and for him to all of the sudden be accused of a sexual assault of an executive assistant that he really doesnt know, doesnt pass muster., CBS THIS MORNING EXCLUSIVE: Aide who accused Cuomo of groping speaks publicly for first time, alleging "when he went to go kiss me on the cheek, he quickly turns his head & he kissed me on the lips." Commisso Jr., also a Democrat, unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Albany in 2017. On page 190 Commisso also testified that she is not getting child support from her husband. Former Cuomo assistant Brittany Commisso said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" in a preview clip from "CBS This Morning" that what Gov. I remember going downstairs and escorting myself out and going to my car and sitting there for a second and going, OK, I have to now go back into the Capitol, go back to my desk and do my job and pretend that, like, that didnt just happen. The fact that she wore a long winter coat when she was in the office which was omitted by AG James is exculpatory evidence and disproves her story. Brittany Commisso is one of 11 women referenced in a scathing report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James that alleged Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and violated state and. If you do not agree to abide by the terms of this Disclaimer, you are not authorized to access or use the Website and Services. Brittany Commisso is Executive Assistant #1 in the AGs report and Ms. Commisso stated that the incident happened around the day she was tasked to take a photo of the document. Last week, she sought to repudiate Ms. Commissos account by providing a detailed, alternate timeline of what happened on Nov. 16. Commisso was hired by the Executive Chamber as a $62,000-a-year administrative assistant in fiscal 2019 and previously worked as a . As evidence, she submitted the photo below which was taken AFTER the alleged incident. The pair . In her notes, the Counsel wrote: pushed her up against wall hands up shirt touched breast kissed her. Thanks for contacting us. She said Youre going to get us in trouble because the door was open and she was afraid that a woman who works here is going to come in and see. Before that, she worked as a confidential stenographer for the Department of Transportation, according to information provided by the Empire Center for Public Policy. ", Commisso described Cuomo's behavior that night as "almost as if he was in a sexually aggressive state of mind. At what point did you put it back you on? There she learned that Benton had called EA#3 instead of her. Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of Justice for Cuomo. Brittany Commisso was identified as "Executive Assistant #1" in James report accusing Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 women, including current and former state employees, from 2013 to 2020 in violation of state and federal law. He reached under her blouse grasping one of her breasts over her bra. Monday August 09 2021, 4.30pm, The Times. She added: I in no way, shape or form invited that nor did I ask for it. ", "I know the truth. Report by Executive Assistants #2 and #3, March 8, 2021:The Governor pushed her / threw her aginst the wall, put his hand under his shirt, touched her breast and kissed her. "An Executive Chamber staff member noted that she believed Executive Assistant #1 [Brittany Commisso] and Ms. McGrath had wanted a picture with the Governor at the party and were proud of the ones taken." AG report p. 20, footnote#123. Commisso was a former administrative assistant to Cuomo. "She was kind of like starry-eyed high school kid with her like she was a little bit star-struck. CBS News. Investigators found Brittany Commisso's claims credible. I would say, Governor, this is the truth. She told Cuomo in late 2020 she was going through a divorce which created financial pressure. Brittany Commisso begged her then-boss Andrew Cuomo for a raise and not to cut her hours in November 2020 despite the fact she'd have to leave early to pick up her daughter from school, he said. She said that she was at the governor's mansion that night to help Cuomo with his upcoming State of the State address. When she reached his office on the 2nd floor, he came out from his desk and began groping her. She told him the divorce created financial pressure. The attorney generals report said that Ms. Commisso did not recall the exact date that she said Mr. Cuomo groped her but that it was around Nov. 16. Commisso claims that she took several photos before during which it happened, but that she deleted them because they were blurry. And it unfortunately turned into a nightmare," she said. We may also provide notice to you in other ways at our discretion, such as through the contact information you have provided. Lyons claims that after Commisso told TU and the investigators the groping had occurred around or after Nov. 16 [] she later told the Times Union that the incident had occurred weeks later.Note: In her Submission to the AG on October 20, 2021, Rita Glavin established that the only day Commisso was in the Mansion was December 7, 2020, which was also the day the Sheriffs office claimed the incident happened between 3.51 pm and 4.07 pm. "The independent investigators selected are widely respected professionals, recognized for their legal and investigatory ability. Brittany Commisso one of the previously unnamed 11 women who New York Gov. "What he did to me was a crime," Commisso said of Cuomo during the interview. He's lying and I felt that he was personally saying it to me." Commisso has filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo with the Albany County Sherriff's office, saying "The Governor needs to be held accountable. Records also show that several people were at the Mansion, including Ms. Benton, Ms. DeRosa, and Peter Ajemian, none of whom were asked about what they heard or saw that day, as one would expect in a real investigation. Brittany Commisso is "Executive Assistant #1 in the AG's report and "Ms. X" in the Position Statement, but she has since revealed her identity. Nonetheless, Acting Counsel referred the matter to the Albany Police Department on March 10. Cuomo has denied that he ever touched Commisso inappropriately, including when they took the selfie. Brittany Commisso, one of the women accusing ex-Gov. ", Commisso said that she filed a criminal complaint because "it was the right thing to do. I believe that I think what I had done was I had taken it off when I sat down, when he said I think I did take off my coat, he was like no, take your coat off, I did take off my coat. And the interactions she described and the timing of it dont match up at all.. Executive Assistant Who Accused Cuomo of Groping Says It Was Not Normal, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/09/nyregion/Brittany-commisso-cuomo.html, Brittany Commisso, left, answering questions during an interview with correspondent Jericka Duncan on CBS This Morning., CBS This Morning and Albany Times Union, via Associated Press. And I thought to myself, that probably wasn't the best thing to say," Commisso said. The 33-year-old made the comments in a May 17 deposition, telling outside lawyers probing the allegations against Cuomo that one of his aides was prying into her personal life in a possible attempt to get her husband to do the governors dirty work and claim adultery in their divorce. From 2013 to 2017, Commisso worked as a confidential secretary in the Albany County Department of Law, according to her LinkedIn profile. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, I don't have the words. It was untucked.Q. I remember that is when I put it back on but I didnt zipper it back up. Finally, after asking about details of her blouse, they stop saying its fine before she can make it worse and omit this whole crucial part of her testimony and the fact that she wore a coat completely. The 32-year-old was previously known only asExecutive Assistant #1 in state Attorney General Letitia James scathing report concluding that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former staffers, in violation of state and federal law. Commisso told investigators she was too scared of losing her job to speak out against Cuomo at the time. The two stood next to each other, she said. Jessica Chasmar is a digital writer on the politics team for Fox News and Fox Business. Commissos second claim is that on December 31, 2019, Cuomo asked her to take a selfie with him, during which he rubbed and grabbed her butt for at least 5 seconds. I said 'He is lying. Brittany Commisso began working as an executive assistant in the governor's office in 2017. I never want her to be afraid of any person in power, a man or a woman.. The divorce proceedings are ongoing, with a trial set for March 16, 2022, in Albany court. You said you were wearing a blouse, what did your blouse look like?A. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Was that a blouse that you were wearing on top? "There's a difference between being an affectionate and warm person. or redistributed. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. I didnt want it. ', Ted Cruz says 2024 Senate re-election will be 'firefight as Democrats come at him with everything they have, Maryland mayor facing child pornography charges was frequent donor to Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. We have a lot of fact finding to do, we have a lot of interviews to do. Apple said that would include a lengthy interview with Commisso. Commisso said that she did not consider any of this behavior normal or acceptable. She accuses him of groping her. But . Premo told the newspaper, the day we met that she would take a polygraph test without hesitation.. I know what she meant by that. Commisso told the newspaper that in late 2019, she began to be called upon to work directly with Cuomo more frequently. 32 year old Brittany Commisso started working as an executive assistant in New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office in 2017. For over three months, Executive Assistant #1 kept this groping incident to herself and planned to take it to the rave, but found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the executive chamber) while watching the governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that. Similarly, we will cooperate with all law enforcement agencies, as appropriate., Cuomo and his attorneys have denied Commissos accusations. "Maybe to him, he thought this was normal. Commisso, who is 32, has a 6-year-old daughter and is in divorce proceedings with her husband, who once ran for mayor of Albany, said Cuomo groped her twice. Most notable is Stephanie Bentons testimony: Commisso told Cuomo in or around November that because she was going through a divorce she needed a different work schedule. Brittany Commisso is a 32-year-old American Executive Assistant #1 from New York who was born in 1989. Commisso claims Cuomo groped her in December 2019 and November 2020. Full video testimony available at OAG website. Clip is edited. Premo asked whether Cuomo would also take a polygraph exam. I feel like I was being taken advantage of., The report described the alleged groping as the culmination of a series of offensive interactions that also include Cuomos alleged touching and grabbing of [Commissos] butt during hugs and, on one occasion, while taking selfies with him.. It was, it was I don't have the words. August 9, 2021 / 6:30 AM Commisso said this made her so nervous that her hands began to shake, making it difficult for her to even take the picture. She graduated from SUNY Albany with a degree in political science and government. ", Commisso said that after watching his denial she "broke down" and told two coworkers "a little bit.". And I felt as though if I said something that I know, who was going to believe me?, CBS THIS MORNING EXCLUSIVE: The aide who accused NY Gov. They, therefore, sat down to take the photo below. I want to make sure that I got this straight. Cuomo has denied touching women inappropriately, but apologized if his behavior was misinterpreted, while his attorneys have questioned the fairness and impartiality of the attorney generals investigation. Now, she is speaking publicly for the first time since filing a criminal complaint against Cuomo last. Commisso claims that after she finished her assignment in Cuomos office, he hugged her. Heres what you need to know about Commisso, who filed a criminal complaint against the governor last week. On August 3, 2021, after the report was published, Cuomos attorney provided a timeline disproving that Cuomo groped Commisso on November 16, as stated in the report. Brittany Commisso, a government employee to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, made her first public comment after accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment. Brittany Commisso began working as an executive assistant in the governor's office in 2017. Commisso Jr. did not respond to a request for comment. More information:https://ag.ny. When I stopped it, he just pulled away and walked away. Ms. Commissos allegations that Mr. Cuomo groped her and grabbed her breast in the Executive Mansion last year are among the most serious made against him. Andrew Cuomo of groping her at the Executive Mansion, is interviewed at the Times Union on Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Colonie, N.Y. Will Waldron/Times . Brittany was born and brought up in Albany, United States of America. "I'm a former federal prosecutor and I know the difference between putting a case together against a target, versus doing independent fact-finding with an open mind," Glavin said. The governors special counsel Beth Garvey had also been asking around about her relationship status, Brittany told investigators. She spoke in late 2020 and early 2021 to her supervisors asking for a raise and more overtime hours on weekends. However, after a couple of months and processing this whole thing, I do want her to know that she has a voice, Commisso saidin Mondays sit-down. Brittany Commisso, the executive assistant who accused Gov. In essence she has accused Governor Cuomo of sexual assault. Not sliding it. Because he refused to pay me child support, Brittany testified. Legal Statement. I told them.. Not, you know, quickly brushing over it rubbing my butt.. Mr. Cuomos top aide, Melissa DeRosa, was among those who spearheaded the effort, the report said. November 10, 2021, AG James released Commissos testimony, which revealed that Brittany Commisso wore a long winter coat while she was allegedly groped. Brittany Commisso, una de las 11 mujeres cuyas denuncias de abuso sexual fueron corroboradas por un informe del 3 de agosto del fiscal general del estado, hizo sus primeros comentarios pblicos. Brittany Commisso, going on camera for the first time, said Cuomo is lying. The 32-year-old Commisso spoke out publicly for the first time in an interview with CBS This Morning and the Albany Times-Union that aired on Monday, August 9, 2021. During this conversation Commisso told Cuomo that she would visit an old boyfriend in Florida and that she also had a boyfriend in Saratoga, a detail omitted in the report. Lastly, the photo itself clearly contradicts her story. This crucial fact was discussed during the testimony and omitted by the AG and her investigators in the report. You put it back up before he came around and groped you; is that right?A. "I have to tell you it was at the moment I was in such shock that I could just tell you that I just remember looking down seeing his hand, seeing the top of my bra and I remember it was like a little even the cup the kind of bra that I had to the point I could tell you doesnt really fit me properly, it was a little loose, I just remember seeing exactly that. They are there to protect him. A selfie taken by Brittany Commisso with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Now, she is speaking publicly for the first time since filing a criminal complaint against Cuomo last. She told two contradictory stories about the reason she deleted the blurry photos which would have been evidence.