ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – The only criminal charge filed over the sexual harassment allegations that drove former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from office was dismissed Friday at prosecutors’ request, clearing what had been seen as the most serious legal threat to the Democrat.
The move had been expected after Albany County prosecutors said they couldn’t prove the case and wanted to drop it, and Cuomo’s lawyers asked the court to agree.
Cuomo, who denied the allegation that he groped an aide in the executive mansion in 2020, didn’t speak during Friday’s short virtual hearing. Wearing a black mask, he was briefly visible on the videoconference as his lawyer Rita Glavin moved her camera to show him in the room.
“As the governor has said, this simply did not happen,” she said in a video statement after the hearing.
“Today, reason and the rule of law prevailed. Not politics, rhetoric or mob mentality,” Glavin added.