Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY)'s legal defense for sexual misconduct allegations stunned a CNN reporter on Thursday afternoon, who called the $20.5 million figure "eye-popping" and noted that taxpayers are covering his aggressive defense.
CNN reporter MJ Lee joined anchor Jake Tapper on his show, "The Lead," to discuss the latest reporting in Cuomo's case. Tapper noted that Cuomo's defeat in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary "has not dashed his hopes of a political comeback," as he's still on the ballot in November, just not for the Democratic Party.
Tapper noted that Cuomo has spent millions defending himself, and some legal experts say his team has deployed "an aggressive and unconventional legal defense against his accusers." That includes seeking gynecological records of one of the plaintiffs.
"While Cuomo contemplates a formal run as an independent mayoral candidate, New York taxpayers are the ones footing the bill in this legal fight," he said.
Lee noted he's spent over $20 million.
"That is how much the state of New York has spent so far for the legal defense of Cuomo and several officials who worked with him in three lawsuits brought by women who made sexual misconduct allegations against him. That is an eye-popping figure."
She said she and colleague Sabrina Souza sought to dig into Cuomo's pricey legal defense strategy, combing through hundreds of pages of legal documents in the lawsuits and interviewing the plaintiffs' lawyers, Cuomo's advisors, legal and ethics experts, and speaking with several accusers.
"What some legal experts told us is that Cuomo's defense team has at times used aggressive and unconventional tactics that appear intended to slow down the legal proceedings," she said. "For example, in one case, they sought the plaintiff's gynecological, optometrist, and family therapy records. They've also tried to probe third-party accusers' romantic histories and past alleged experiences of sexual trauma, as well as their communications with members of the media."
Cuomo has denied the allegations, and his advisers told CNN he will not settle.
"They say that, yes, these ongoing lawsuits have been expensive and protracted, but they blame who they describe as cash-hungry ex-employees who decided to sue him, as well as what they see as a political witch hunt orchestrated by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Now, as a reminder, the AG's office conducted an investigation that found that Cuomo sexually harassed around a dozen employees," said Lee.
Former Cuomo employees who accused him of inappropriate behavior but didn't sue told CNN they're being "saddled with significant legal bills," said Lee, as they're being subpoenaed in some of the other lawsuits. A former Cuomo aide had to sit for an eight-hour deposition with Cuomo's lawyer and decided against having a lawyer present to avoid adding to her mounting legal bills of around $30,000.
Another accuser, Charlotte Bennett, recently dropped her lawsuit and previously said, "I many times believed that I'd be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends. I desperately need to live my life. That's the choice I'm making today."
