Cuomo's Top Aide and "Ruthless Enabler" Melissa DeRosa Resigns

Why resign? Does Cuomo think he can convince people that Melissa DeRosa was the Real Killer here?

No, I doubt it.

In the federal system -- and I would guess this is the rule in New York, too, but I'm not sure of that -- you can compel a currently-serving government employee to testify in a non-criminal hearing -- like an impeachment trial -- but you cannot so compel a former employee.

You can compel them to testify in a criminal setting, but not in a non-criminal government tribunal.

That's why we can't make Comey testify. Or McCabe.

So I think she resigned so that she can't be forced to talk about Cuomo's crimes -- or her own.

And she's done a lot. It was Melissa DeRosa who admitted she coordinated the hiding of nursing home deaths.

Andrew Cuomo's top aide has admitted that their administration 'froze' in August when asked for data detailing COVID-19 deaths among nursing home patients, and failed to provide the requested information.

In a remarkable confession made during a conference call with New York state Democrats, obtained by The New York Post, DeRosa asked for understanding from their critics.

Her mea culpa came shortly before the Associated Press published new detail into how many patients recovering from COVID were sent back into nursing homes. They found more than 9,000 readmittances - a figure 40 per cent higher than official data.

In January, the AP reported that the death toll from COVID among nursing home patients was 15,000 - an increase almost 50 per cent higher than the official statistics.

Being Cuomo's top aide, I'll bet you money that she was also involved in the decision to seed the nursing homes with covid, too.

She wouldn't want to testify about that.

She also broke the law by "helping" write Cuomo's book on "leadership lessons" about covid. A lot of his other aides also "helped" with that book (I imagine they wrote 99% of it), and I bet Melissa DeRosa organized that use of public employees to assist in Cuomo's purely personal "writing" endeavor.

She also, of course, was reportedly an "enforcer" and "enabler" for Cuomo's sexual harassment of employees-- including leaking a confidential file on an employee in retaliation for her accusing Cuomo of harassment.

That's potentially a crime.

New details have emerged about how Melissa DeRosa -- a top aide and trusted confidante to Gov. Andrew Cuomo -- allegedly helped try to bury the sexual harassment allegations against her boss.

The scathing official report confirming the three-term Democrat Cuomo's potentially criminal behavior states that DeRosa played a key role in leaking the personnel file of one accuser in an attempt to discredit her -- something Attorney General Letitia James' independent probers found amounted to unlawful retaliation.

And now she's resigned.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's longtime secretary and confidante, Melissa DeRosa -- depicted as the governor’s enabler and enforcer in covering up his sexual abuses in the state attorney general’s probe -- resigned from her post Sunday evening.

...

DeRosa was mentioned 187 times in the 168-page investigative report by Attorney General Letitia James into 11 sexual assault accusations against the three-term governor, which confirmed Cuomo has engaged in "unwanted groping, kissing, hugging and making inappropriate comments," James said.

The report describes how DeRosa -- whom Cuomo himself reportedly affectionately referred to as one of his "mean girls" -- took an active role in dismissing the accusations from current and former aides against the governor.

...

DeRosa also admitted that she decided to release ex-aide Lindsey Boylan's personnel record, including internal complaints, to certain media outlets in December after she consulted with other staffers on the matter, the investigation found.

DeRosa told investigators she made the decision in response to Boylan’s tweets about the governor -- including that he was "one of the biggest abusers of all time" --- that had gotten "more and more escalating," the report states.

The report additionally found that DeRosa also played a part in circulating a proposed op-ed, originally drafted by Cuomo, that contained "personal and professional attacks" on Boylan, and later sharing it with current and former Executive Chamber employees.

"The draft letter or op-ed attacking Ms. Boylan -- particularly when combined with the release of the confidential internal records to the press -- constitutes retaliation," the investigators wrote.

Investigators also alleged that DeRosa and other top aides, including counsel Judith Mogul and former chief of staff Jill Des Rosiers, dragged their feet on reporting former staffer Charlotte Bennett’s complaints to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, which required an immediate response under state law.

...

In another instance, DeRosa -- who serves as Cuomo' "Chairwoman of the New York State Council on Women & Girls" -- tried to dismiss reporting about a state trooper who accused the governor of sexually harassing her as a case of sexism, according to the report.

Viva Frei discusses the harassment allegations by that state trooper here. Not only did he proposition her, but he crept up behind her and dragged his finger down her spine from her neck to her mid-back. That is obviously a pass. And he had her detailed to him, despite her not being qualified for protection detail, because he thought she was hot.

She has been described to The Post by former co-workers as a merciless person who created a toxic work environment.

BTW, the report said that Cuomo referred to his (attractive) female staff as "mingle mamas."

That seemed to be an implication that these married women (and employees) might be up for "mingling" to hook up with other men.

On a Saturday in February 2020, McGrath said she and her colleague were working alone with Cuomo at the Capitol when the two women began discussing a planned Florida trip.

Interjecting, Cuomo asked the co-worker -- who was married at the time -- if she was planning on meeting men to "mingle" while in Florida, McGrath said.

They laughed off the question, McGrath said, but not without Cuomo first giving them a nickname.

"He called us 'mingle mamas' for the rest of the day," McGrath said.

Essentially he was asking them if they Swing.

Again, I think Melissa DeRosa's resignation is a tactic to avoid her testifying at the impeachment trial.

Cuomo couldn't possibly think he could just blame all of his actions on DeRosa, could he?

Could he? Could he be that deluded?

Cuomo is now in very real danger of being impeached and convicted and removed from office, even in bright blue New York State: A new Quinippiac poll finds that 70% of New Yorkers think that Cuomo should resign, including 57% of Democrats.

In addition, 55% want him charged with a crime.

Just days after the New York Attorney General released a report detailing allegations of sexual harassment from 11 women against Governor Cuomo, voters in New York think 70 - 25 percent that Andrew Cuomo should resign as governor, according to a Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters in New York State released today. The poll was conducted on August 4th and 5th.

Democrats say 57 - 36 percent, Republicans say 88 - 11 percent, and independents say 76 - 19 percent that Cuomo should resign.

In a survey on March 18th, 49 percent of registered voters said Andrew Cuomo should not resign, while 43 percent said he should resign.

More than half of New York voters say 55 - 29 percent that they think Cuomo should be charged with a crime based on what they have heard or read about the allegations of sexual harassment against him, while 16 percent did not offer an opinion.

Voters say 70 - 27 percent that they think Governor Cuomo has lost his ability to be an effective leader.

Governor Cuomo receives his all-time lowest job approval since taking office in 2011, as voters give him a negative 28 - 63 percent job approval rating. Prior to today, his lowest job approval was a negative 39 - 48 percent on March 18, 2021.

And the impeachment is actually coming -- the state assembly informed Cuomo that they were nearing completion of their inquiry and told him he had a week to submit any exculpatory evidence.

"We write to inform you that the Committee’s investigation is nearing completion and the Assembly will soon consider potential articles of impeachment against your client," the committee's attorneys wrote to Cuomo's counsel. "Accordingly, we invite you to provide any additional evidence or written submissions that you would like the Committee to consider before its work concludes. To the extent that you wish to share any such materials with the Committee, please do so by no later than 5:00 pm on August 13, 2021."

Update: Via Tami, the Cuomo scandal is now claiming scalps of people merely associated with Cuomo:

@jodikantor

Breaking: Roberta Kaplan, chair of Time's Up and co-founder of its legal defense fund, has resigned from the organization in the face of criticism over her ties to Cuomo's sexual harassment scandal.

https://tinyurl.com/ye7enfpw

The chair of Time's Up was actually assisting Cuomo through his own Time's Up (MeToo) scandal.

Time's Up leader Roberta Kaplan resigned Monday amid backlash for advising Gov. Andrew Cuomo as he faced allegations of sexual harassment, but the governor’s little brother has gone unpunished by CNN for a similar role in the growing scandal.

The "Cuomo Prime Time" host and Kaplan were both part of a team of outside, loyal confidants to Gov. Cuomo who contributed to a culture allowing the governor's "sexually harassing conduct" to "flourish," a scathing state investigation revealed last week.

The CNN host was one of several unpaid, trusted outside figures consulted by Gov. Cuomo and his Executive Chamber staff to grapple with the numerous sexual harassment allegations against him this year. He drafted a response for his brother to the allegations against him on Feb. 28, according to the report.

CNN's Cuomo has remained silent on his big brother, despite the report from New York Attorney General Letitia James, D., that found the governor sexually harassed multiple women....

Kaplan, who was the Chair of the Board of Directors of Time's Up and cofounder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, joined the CNN host as part of the governor’s trusted outside figures. She stepped down from her position but Chris Cuomo remains gainfully employed by CNN.

Kallisto says that Robbie Kaplan attacked Trump a lot over his claimed "scandals:"

22 Related:

Noted #MeToo Lawyer and litigator against Trump resigns when her name shows up in the AG report as a pyrsyn who covered up Governor Badabing's sex harassment.

"Robbie Kaplan"

Say her name!

Posted by: kallisto

Exit question: Is Fredo next?

Exit answer: No.

posted by Ace at 01:26 PM

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