Cuomo accuser says governor did not take sexual harassment training

Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) who has accused him of sexual harassment, said the governor did not undergo sexual harassment training.

In a new interview with CBS News that aired Friday, Bennett said another aide took the mandatory training for Cuomo. Bennett, 25, has accused Cuomo, 63, of asking her inappropriate questions about her sex life and saying he was opening to having relationships with women in their 20s, a remark she believes was an indication that he was open to a relationship with her.

“In 2019, he did not take the sexual harassment training,” Bennett said.

“I was there,” she added, when asked how she knew that information. “I heard [Cuomo Executive Secretary] Stephanie [Benton] say: ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this for you,’ and making a joke about the fact that she was completing the training for him, and then I heard her, at the end, ask him to sign the certificate.”

The remarks contradict Cuomo’s claim this week that he did undergo the training himself.

“The short answer is yes,” he said at a press conference Wednesday when asked if he participated in the training.

Cuomo’s office said Benton "categorically denies this exchange" and that Bennett's remarks are "not true."

"Some state employees take an online course; for Executive Chamber Senior Staff, the training takes the form of personal review of documentation," Beth Garvey, special counsel to th... (Read more)

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