State Watch

Cuomo accuser says she thought he was propositioning her

Charlotte Bennett, who has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment, says she felt that Cuomo was propositioning her for sex.

“I thought he’s trying to sleep with me,” Bennett said during an exclusive interview on “CBS Evening News” with Norah O’Donnell.

Bennett, a former aide to Cuomo, said that Cuomo asked her questions that made her feel “deeply uncomfortable.” 

“The governor’s trying to sleep with me,” she recalled thinking. “And I’m deeply uncomfortable and I have to get out of this room as soon as possible.”

When asked what made her felt like Cuomo wanted to have sex with her, Bennett replied, “without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely.”

Bennett, 25, is one of three women to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment. She told The New York Times that Cuomo, 63, asked her several personal questions when they were alone, and suggested that he was opening to having relationships with women in their 20s.

Cuomo apologized on Wednesday for making people feel “uncomfortable.”

“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it,” Cuomo said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is investigating the accusations against Cuomo.