Day in court: Cuomo to appear as judge weighs groping charge

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo planned to make a virtual appearance before an Albany judge Friday as prosecutors moved to dismiss the only criminal charge filed against the Democrat in connection with the sexual harassment allegations that drove him from office.

The misdemeanor complaint was filed by the local sheriff in October, accusing Cuomo of groping an aide in the executive mansion in December 2020, eight months before he resigned.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares told Judge Holly Trexler this week that although the aide was credible, and some evidence supported her account, he believed he couldn't win a conviction in court.

Soares and Cuomo's attorney each asked the judge to dismiss the complaint. With an arraignment already scheduled, the judge said Cuomo and the attorneys should appear virtually. The judge will preside over the proceeding from an Albany courtroom with the lawyers participating via videoconference.

The charges against Cuomo were based on allegations by Brittany Commisso, who said Cuomo slid his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast when they were alone in an office at the mansion.

Her testimony was among the most damning in a report released in August by Democratic state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.

Cuomo resigned that month. He has called the report unfair and has vehemently denied the groping allegation.

Soares has said he was caught by surprise when Sheriff Craig Apple, a fellow Democrat, filed the forcible touching complaint without consulting the prosecutor's office. Soares called it “potentially defective” and moved to delay Cuomo’s arraignment, originally set for November.

In a letter to Trexler on Tuesday, Soares said “statutory elements of New...