This top aide isn’t standing by Andrew “Luv Guv” Cuomo. It seems even loyal “mean girls” have a breaking point. Melissa DeRosa
It’s either that or her ambition has made her realize that she’s got to jump off this sinking ship posthaste.
On Sunday, Melissa DeRosa, 38, resigned from her position as secretary to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. DeRosa is the daughter of a New York lobbyist and was hired by Cuomo in 2013. In 2017, she became Cuomo’s number one aide when she was promoted to Secretary to the Governor.
Roberta Kaplan, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Time’s Up movement, also resigned from her position after it was revealed that she had advised the Cuomo administration when allegations against him first came out last year. Kaplan is an attorney who has been doing legal work representing Melissa DeRosa recently. Apparently, attempting to discredit sexual harassment accusers in an op-ed penned by the accused isn’t exactly ideologically consistent for the cofounder of the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund, which provides legal assistance to women experiencing workplace sexual harassment and discrimination. Who knew?
DeRosa is either a very unlucky woman, a poor judge of character, or a jinx. Her previous boss was disgraced former NY AG, Eric Schneidermann, who resigned in 2018 after several women came forward accusing him of sexual harassment as well as sexual battery.
Cuomo referred to DeRosa as one of his “mean girls,” and it appears that she lived up to the moniker, despite her role as Chairwoman of the New York State Council on Women & Girls. She is accused of enabling a “toxic work environment” where women were afraid to come forward with their discomfort with Cuomo’s predation.
According to the NY Attorney General’s report, DeRosa took an active role in dismissing the accusations from current and former aides against the governor and working to discredit some of the women.
She attempted to dismiss the report of a state trooper who accused the governor of sexually harassing her as a case of sexism. The state trooper was picked by Cuomo for his personal security detail, and he subjected her to “creepy” and “flirtatious” behavior which she says included touching her back, stomach, and hip, as well as an unwanted kiss.
Melissa DeRosa and The Luv Guv
Melissa DeRosa along with fellow Cuomo “mean girls,” former chief of staff Jill Des Rosiers, and counsel Judith Mogul, dragged their feet on reporting Charlotte Bennett’s complaint against Cuomo’s flirtations and “grooming” her for sex to the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations in violation of regulations.
DeRosa was described to the New York Post as “tough to deal with” by a source in frequent contact with DeRosa and Cuomo. The source added, “DeRosa is feared…If you cross her, you’re crossing the governor.” Another called her a “ruthless, heartless, evil human being who will rip your heart out to get what she wants.”
Melissa DeRosa didn’t say why she resigned, but she did say that the last two years have been “emotionally and mentally trying.” Yes, trying,,,, as in trying to save Cuomo’s arse.
She also apparently exploded when she heard about Bennett’s accusation that Cuomo was seeking a sexual relationship with her by talking to her about her rape, how it affected her views of sex, and whether she liked “older men.”
DeRosa blasted Cuomo, “I can’t believe that this happened. I can’t believe you put yourself in a situation where you would be having any version of this conversation.” She then got out of the governor’s car when it stopped at a traffic light.
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.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of New York for the past 10 years,” she said in a statement. “New Yorkers’ resilience, strength, and optimism through the most difficult times has inspired me everyday. Personally, the past 2 years have been emotionally and mentally trying. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such talented and committed colleagues on behalf of our state.”
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.
Source: New York Post
The Post reports that DeRosa “played a key role in” leaking the personnel file of accuser Lindsey Boylan, which included complaints against her “in an attempt to discredit her.”
Essentially, DeRosa was to Andrew Cuomo what George Stephanopoulos was to Bill Clinton — the heavy that would bully accusers and reporters into making sure that the “bimbo eruptions” didn’t make the news. The New York Post stated as much when the AG report dropped last week.
The 1993 documentary, The War Room, showed behind-the-scenes footage of the Clinton presidential campaign. The Clinton Communications Director, George Stephanopoulos, bullying a reporter into not reporting on a rumor about Bill Clinton’s dalliances.
But there was one difference between DeRosa and Stephanopoulos — because she’s a woman, DeRosa gave Cuomo a veneer of respectability and safety for other women. When she dismissed their accusations, it must have been a shock.
DeRosa’s resignation comes on the heels of a criminal complaint filed by Brittany Commisso, who was identified as “Executive Assistant #1” in the AG report. Commisso said she filed a criminal complaint because “what he did to me was a crime.” She said that it wasn’t just Cuomo’s innuendo or the predatory hugging and kissing that were the problem in her case. He also grabbed and rubbed her butt cheek on one occasion. On another, he slid his hand up her blouse and cupped her breast.
Why is it always the very public “feminist” men who think that this behavior is fine?
Cuomo’s defense was very similar to the one given by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when allegations arose that he groped a woman back in 2000, and the story was buried for nearly two decades despite his career in politics beginning in 2008. At the time, 28-year-old Trudeau groped a female reporter and apologized to her, saying, “If I had known that you were reporting for a national newspaper, I would never have been so forward.” After “taking some time for reflection” on the 18-year-old event, Trudeau said that he had done nothing wrong and the reporter had “experienced it differently” than he did. Cuomo, similarly, said that his behavior is totally normal, and he’d know if he was sexually harassing people. It’s gaslighting at its finest.
The tactic worked for Trudeau — he won reelection after that news broke, and he is poised to win in the next election.
The question is, will it work for Andrew Cuomo?
The “mean girls” might be abandoning him, but he’s still got that Left-Wing Privilege that means that scandals don’t ever seem to stick.
Besides, he should be removed from office for the right reason — his mass killing of the elderly with his deadly nursing home order, which this sexual harassment scandal detracts from.
Cross-posted with Clash Daily
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