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With two of Andrew Cuomo’s accusers in audience, Zohran Mamdani asks Cuomo, “What do you have to say to the 13 women you sexually harassed?”
Charlotte Bennett, one of Andrew Cuomo’s accusers, is being silenced due to the former Governor’s repeated filings of legal summons against her for defamation — but during the cross-examination, Mamdani spoke up for the women Cuomo has tried to silence. Mamdani pressed Cuomo on why he’s spent millions of our taxpayer dollars to silence and probe the gynecological records of his accusers
New York, NY — At tonight’s debate, Zohran Mamdani brought Charlotte Bennett and Karen Hinton — two of the thirteen women who accused former Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment — as guests in the audience.
Charlotte Bennett, while working for Cuomo when he was Governor as an Executive Assistant and Senior Briefer, was subjected to repeated incidents of inappropriate comments.
Bennett recounted that the Governor asked her whether her experience being sexually assaulted impacted her sex life and told her he was comfortable dating 22-year-olds, “lonely,” and “looking for a girlfriend.”
When Bennett came forward about the harassment, Andrew Cuomo claimed he was “trying to help” her work through the trauma of her sexual assault.
In subsequent comments, Cuomo said about Bennett:
- “I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.”
- “I was trying to make sure she was working her way through it the best she could … I brought my personal experience into the workplace, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
- “I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”
Cuomo maintains the sexual harassment accusations found to be credible by the Attorney General were a “political witchhunt” – and has refused to apologize to the women he harassed.
Bennett — who has not been in the same room as Andrew Cuomo since 2020 — has been effectively silenced by Cuomo, who has repeatedly filed legal summons for defamation, intended to prevent her from speaking about the case.
On stage, Zohran Mamdani used the debate to speak up for Bennett, demanding that the former Governor explain why he spent over $60 million in taxpayer funds on his personal scandals — including nearly $20M on sexual harassment scandals alone.
Meanwhile, Andrew Cuomo evaded responsibility for both sexually harassing at least thirteen different women, and also for using millions in taxpayer dollars to silence his accusers and probe their gynecological records.
Cuomo said that “everything [Zohran Mamdani] just stated was a misstatement.” Yet in 2024, the the DOJ concluded that the accusations were credible and that Governor Andrew Cuomo has violated federal Title VII rules against discrimination and retaliation between 2013 and 2021.
Zohran Mamdani’s question for Andrew Cuomo on the debate stage:
“Mr. Cuomo in 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent more than $20 million in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political. You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women.
One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience this evening, you sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself, because you lodged a defamation case against her.
I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?”
Mamdani’s opening statement:
“My opponents…spend more time trying to convince the other to drop out than actually proposing their own policies”
New York, NY — TONIGHT on the debate stage, Zohran Mamdani made his opening case to New Yorkers that he will deliver a city that New Yorkers can afford. Andrew Cuomo, on the other hand, is focused only on courting billionaire donors and convincing other candidates to drop out, while proposing no real plans for delivering a more affordable city.
See Zohran Mamdani’s opening statement below:
“Thank you to the moderators, and thank you to New Yorkers for tuning in. I know you’d rather be watching the Knicks.
While there are three candidates on this stage, you will hear only two messages. My opponents, who spend more time trying to convince the other to drop out than actually proposing their own policies, will speak only of the past, because that’s all that they know.
I am the sole candidate running with a vision for the future of this city.
Andrew Cuomo will spend much of tonight attacking me. He is a desperate man lashing out because he knows that the one thing he’s always cared about, power, is now slipping away from him. He will amplify right-wing talking points, he will share conspiracy theories, and he will do these things to make you feel that this should keep you up at night.
But I’ve been spending the last year listening to New Yorkers, and I know what actually keeps you up: it’s whether or not you can afford to live a safe and dignified life in this city.
I have plans for our future. My opponents only have fear.”
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Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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