In one sexual harassment lawsuit, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s legal defense has gone so far as to include subpoenas for records from the accuser’s gynecologist, college and family therapist.
In another, Mr. Cuomo’s lawyers sought almost four years of phone records from a woman with few if any ties to the accuser, a state trooper. And when the accuser’s lawyers subpoenaed Mr. Cuomo’s phone, he relayed that it was at the bottom of Nantucket Sound after it “accidentally fell from his shirt pocket, hit the boat and fell into the ocean.”
It should come as little surprise that Mr. Cuomo, a pugnacious Democrat whose bullying tactics won battles but few friends in New York, would embrace aggressive legal tactics as he seeks to defend himself against the sexual harassment suits and protect his political image as he contemplates a comeback.
The surprise lies in who is footing Mr. Cuomo’s legal bills in these matters: New York taxpayers.
The state has spent about $25.4 million as of last month representing the legal interests of Mr. Cuomo and several of his top aides as they fend off civil complaints, criminal investigations and inquiries from the State Legislature.
Of the $25.4 million, more than half has gone to defend Mr. Cuomo and several top aides in four lawsuits filed by three women in state and federal court. The rest went to pay for legal representation in earlier state and federal investigations into workplace misconduct and the manipulation of data related to pandemic deaths in nursing homes. These figures come from Thomas P. DiNapoli, the New York State comptroller, whose office tracks and approves the fees.
Because Mr. Cuomo’s alleged actions in these lawsuits took place while he was governor, state law requires taxpayers to foot legal bills related to the accusations.
Michael Gianaris, the Senate deputy majority leader, said he would look for a legislative fix that would provide more oversight of this process. He previously introduced a bill to block Mr. DiNapoli’s office from reimbursing the campaign committees of elected officials who are indicted.
“Most New Yorkers would be correctly offended to know that their tax dollars are going to help someone accused of personal malfeasance,” Mr. Gianaris said.
“The problem is that the standards have been set legally through some provisions of law and then interpretations by the state’s highest court to be incredibly permissive of when a public official gets indemnified for legal action,” he added.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, contended that the high legal expenses were necessary to defend the “lives and reputations of those who have gotten dragged into these frivolous cases.”
“We have a right to defend ourselves against baseless claims and uncover the facts that were hidden away in the political arena,” he added. “These cases have already started falling apart, and once they are entirely dismissed we fully intend to seek attorneys’ fees from the plaintiffs to reimburse the state.”
Since resigning in August 2021, Mr. Cuomo has taken steps to plot a political comeback. He has flirted with running for mayor of New York City, commissioned a poll on his popularity, weighed in on hot-button issues like congestion pricing, and maintained a steady stream of public appearances.
He also has dedicated significant energy toward protecting his public image, with the most recent example coming earlier this week, when he traveled to Washington to defend himself at a hearing of the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
And for Mr. Cuomo, who vehemently denies the sexual harassment allegations, clearing himself in these civil cases is part of the image rehabilitation process.
His lawyers have fought vociferously, and sometimes successfully, to throw out portions of the lawsuits against him. They have also criticized investigative reports from the state attorney general, Letitia James, and the Justice Department, calling them at different times “biased, flawed, and misleading with respect to Governor Cuomo’s conduct while he was governor.”
Lawyers for two of the women suing Mr. Cuomo say that the state’s funding of his legal defense has allowed his team to be overzealous and intrusive in the issuing of subpoenas.
“Governor Cuomo and the other defendants have been allowed to weaponize the judicial system at no cost to themselves and at a high cost to the taxpayers,” said Debra S. Katz, the lawyer for Charlotte Bennett, who accused the governor of asking invasive questions about her sex life while she worked as a low-level aide in the executive chamber. Ms. Bennett interpreted these queries from Mr. Cuomo as signals of his interest in a sexual relationship with her.
Ms. Bennett sued Mr. Cuomo and several of his top aides in federal court, seeking damages for harassment, gender discrimination and retaliation. She also sued the state over Mr. Cuomo’s alleged conduct. State Supreme Court Justice Mary V. Rosado is expected to soon hear arguments about a motion for summary judgment.
Defending Mr. Cuomo and his aides in Ms. Bennett’s case has cost the state nearly $6.2 million, according to Mr. DiNapoli’s office.
Ms. Katz said the cases could be settled for a fraction of the amount the government has spent to fight them. She, along with the lawyer for the state trooper, also blamed Mr. Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, for not pushing the outside lawyers representing the state to settle the cases. Those lawyers have racked up close to $1 million in expenses.
Avi Small, a spokesman for Ms. Hochul, said the state had been waiting to discuss settlements until the statute of limitations on certain claims from the plaintiffs expired, in case other accusers came forward.
“The governor believes every survivor must have the opportunity to come forward and have their voice heard,” Mr. Small said. “During that three-year period, which ended just over a week ago, several employees filed lawsuits, including claims against the former governor, and we are now in a position to evaluate those claims.”
Mr. Cuomo’s legal defense is not the only financial burden related to his alleged conduct. The State Assembly spent about $7 million, according to state contracts, on a private law firm to prepare for an impeachment of Mr. Cuomo that became moot when he resigned. The law firm released a report concerning the allegations into Mr. Cuomo. And Ms. James’s office paid about $7.7 million to two outside law firms for a report that found that Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women, according to state contracts.
Mr. Cuomo has also used his legal team to try to undermine Ms. James’s report and to force her office to turn over unredacted transcripts and memorandums from interviews of witnesses and victims cited in the report.
Regarding the state trooper’s lawsuit against Mr. Cuomo, Magistrate Judge Taryn A. Merkl wrote in January that the former governor “has not just issued subpoenas to complainants, but has issued many subpoenas to witnesses who know the complainants, in an apparent effort to develop impeachment evidence to use against them, and to undercut the reliability” of the attorney general’s report.
The unnamed state trooper, who has sued Mr. Cuomo in both state and federal court, has accused him and a top aide of discrimination and retaliation. In the lawsuit, she recalled instances of unwanted physical contact and numerous suggestive remarks from Mr. Cuomo. She had been transferred onto his security detail, despite lacking the necessary credentials. Ms. James’s report substantiated these accusations.
“The state has already found that these women were subjected to a hostile work environment,” said Valdi Licul, a lawyer representing the trooper.
“Every state and federal agency that has looked at this has corroborated those findings,” Mr. Licul added. “It’s mind-boggling that the state would now pay tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer money to try to defeat the victims here.”
Some of Mr. Cuomo’s efforts in the trooper’s case have been successful: A federal judge tossed out portions of the case, including a retaliation claim made by the trooper against Mr. Cuomo and several of his aides. As of the end of August, their legal defense in this case has cost the state just over $7.5 million, according to Mr. DiNapoli’s office.
The third suit against Mr. Cuomo was brought by Brittany Commisso, a former aide, who accused him of groping her in late 2020. She sued Mr. Cuomo in State Supreme Court in Albany last year under the state’s Adult Survivors Act for what she described as “pervasive abusive conduct.” Ms. Commisso’s suit came after a criminal complaint was filed against Mr. Cuomo, which Albany County prosecutors investigated but later dropped.
Although it is not known how much Ms. Commisso’s suit has cost the state, her lawyers are baffled that Ms. Hochul’s office has gone to such lengths to defend Mr. Cuomo while refusing to settle.
Mariann Meier Wang, Ms. Commisso’s lawyer, said her client “doesn’t feel that she needs to pursue a trial for the sake of trial.”
“Multiple government agencies, including the state’s own attorney general, all found that she was subjected to serious harassment and unlawful conduct,” she added. “The state is taking the position that they’re actively defending the case.”
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