Andrew Cuomo and his then-married top aide Melissa Derosa were in a “emotional romantic relationship” while he was governor of New York.
However, Cuomo, who is running for mayor of New York City, appears to have not disclosed his relationship with the Attorney General's office investigating allegations of sexual harassment that urged him to resign in August 2021.
Another former Cuomo aide, Josh Vrust, told the AG's office that Delosa had opened up about the relationship in June, according to an unedited transcript of his testimony.
“I had a conversation with Melissa and told me that at some point she had an emotional romantic relationship with the governor,” Vlast said under oath, in part of a transcript that was later edited by the office of AG.
“She told me that. She told me we had an emotionally intimate relationship.”
Vlast said Derosa said she and the governor “we haven't had sex, we haven't crossed that line or anything.”
According to Vlasto's testimony, Derosa sought advice from him in early March 2021. She learns that Daily Mail is about to publish a photo of her and the governor having an intimate conversation between dinner.
The two planned to deny the existence of the relationship at the time. And Derosa was considering whether to continue the relationship, according to the transcript, Vlast said.
“We both [sic] Vlast testified, recalling what Derosa said to him.
“It was so much, their personal life was their personal life, and his view and my view was that if they wanted to deny it, it was probably a rise course to move forward from speculation about them,” he said.
In an interview with Cuomo based on the oath the following month, the Democrat for the third term was asked if he had a romantic relationship with members of his staff.
“No,” the governor replied.
“Never have you ever done?”
“Never,” Cuomo said.
The relationship between Delosa and Cuomo was suggested in previously reported testimony about the details of the governor's security that accused him of sexual harassment.
She told investigators that the two were seen as “on the sidewalk like high school students.”
Vlast worked for Cuomo during his first term as governor. He was brought in as Cuomo's outside adviser as the administration faced an onslaught of scandals related to the Covid-19 pandemic and sexual harassment allegations.
Daily Mail eventually released photos of Cuomo and Derosa on March 1, 2021, but as Vlasto testified, the administration was never asked about it by reporters at the time.
In response to the troopers' allegations, Delosa and Cuomo spokesman Rich Azopaldi denied the existence of the relationship at the time.
“What this person says is completely false,” Derosa wrote in a statement about the trooper's allegations.
Delosa, who has since split from her husband, declined to comment Thursday and introduced her attorney to the question.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi refused to respond until he had the opportunity to review Vlasto's comments in the transcript.
Vlasto did not immediately return a request for comment.
AG's office has been historically personalized and I am embarrassed by any embarrassing information from information from the transcript.
A spokesman for Letitia James for AG said the unedited transcript was incorrectly posted and replaced at that time with the edited version.
“During the initial release of these files, an unedited transcript was incorrectly posted in less than two hours. The Office immediately removed the non-removed version as soon as it was discovered,” the statement said.
Cuomo resigned a week after James' office released a report on the investigation. This claimed he was politically motivated as he discovered that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women and was faced with a growing call for his expulsion.
He highlights all his claims and continues to fight them in ongoing lawsuits.
Shocking new details come as Cuomo tries to revive his political career by bidding for the mayor.
Even before officially entering the race on March 1st, incumbent mayor Eric Adams and politicians in the great powers facing many other enemies have been leading the vote for months.
