By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-28 01:21:42 | Updated at 2025-03-31 02:56:16
3 days ago
Andrew Cuomo's camp is blaming New York's anti-Trump Attorney General Letitia James of leaking scandalous details about his 'emotionally intimate' relationship with a top aide in attempt to torpedo his mayoral bid.
The 'affair' speculation was revealed in testimony by former Cuomo aide Josh Vlasto that was leaked to The New York Post as the ex-governor dominates polls to take over for Eric Adams in City Hall.
Vlasto said that the governor and former spokesperson Melissa DeRosa had an 'emotionally intimate connection' when asked about photos published by DailyMail.com in 2021 showing the two close together at a dinner.
'She said that to me. She said we had an emotionally intimate relationship,' Vlasto said in newly-released testimony that had previously been redacted.
Vlasto, however, added that the governor and DeRosa 'had not had sex' nor were they crossing that line, the New York Post reported.
The former governor resigned in 2021 after a report from James branded him a serial sexual harasser, accusations he has denied. Now, he believes James is attacking him again after a new story alleging his relationship with an aide.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, accused James of putting her thumb on the scale for one of the governor's opponents in the Democrat Primary by leaking the testimony.
'This is transparently a play for Tish James to prop up her favored candidate Adrienne Adams who is polling at 4%, and she should be investigated for her continued abuse and law fare within her office,' Azzopardi told DailyMail.com
He added that, as Cuomo's spokesperson during the period in question, all of the governor's inner circle had become close due to the pandemic and having to work closely together every day.
Andrew Cuomo's (pictured right) camp is accusing anti-Trump New York AG Letitia James of letting out a story that accuses him of having an 'emotionally intimate' relationship with aide Melissa DeRosa (pictured left) to torpedo his mayoral bid
The former governor resigned in 2021 after a report from James (pictured) branded him a serial sexual harasser, accusations he has denied
'Of course after seven years of working together for New York, the Governor and Melissa were emotionally close – we all were after going through COVID and everything else together,' Azzopardi said.
Cathy Foti, DeRosa's attorney, also went after James for the timing of this now un-redacted testimony.
'All of this is in transcripts that have been publicly available for years, except portions that were redacted by the AG that they have fought turning over in court, but somehow made their way into the hands of the New York Post,' she said in a statement.
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for James told DailyMail.com claimed the unredacted testimony went public by mistake.
'An unredacted transcript was accidentally posted for less than two hours during the initial release of these files. The office immediately removed the unredacted version once it was discovered,' the rep said.
Foti added that the release of the transcripts calls 'into question potentially unethical activity by the Attorney General's Office for political purposes.'
Recent polling shows Cuomo as the dominant force in a Democrat Primary that includes incumbent Eric Adams.
The Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill poll shows Cuomo at 38%, a double-digit lead over socialist Zohran Mamdani in second.
Former Cuomo aide Josh Vlasto said that the governor and former spokesperson Melissa DeRosa had an 'emotionally intimate connection' over photos published by DailyMail.com in 2021 showing the two close together at a dinner
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, accused James of putting her thumb on the scale for Adrienne Adams (pictured), one of the governor's opponents in the Democrat Primary, by leaking the testimony
Adrienne Adams, the New York City Council Speaker, is indeed at 4%, behind Eric Adams (8%) and three other candidates.
The photos that led to Vlasto's testimony showed Cuomo appearing to get cozy with DeRosa two weeks after she was married in 2016.
The pictures show Cuomo and DeRosa in the Knickerbocker Bar & Grill in Lower Manhattan on September 8, 2016.
DeRosa had married former Cuomo spokesman Matthew Wing just 12 days earlier on August 27 and flashed her new wedding ring.
At the time Cuomo was in a long-term relationship with celebrity chef Sandra Lee. They were living together in her sprawling home in Mt. Kisco, New York until they eventually split in 2019.
The governor and his aide had been dining with another man who left shortly after 8pm, recalls 'James,' one of the men who took the pictures. Neither man wants to be publicly identified for fear of retaliation from the famously combative governor.
'He put his hand under the table and it looked like he was touching her thigh.'
DeRosa said in a statement to DailyMail.com, 'There have been misogynistic rumors in Albany and in government for years but I never thought I'd have to respond to them in the press. The Governor and I have never had an intimate relationship. The Governor and I have been close friends and colleagues for over ten years – we've had countless meals together and suggestions or innuendo around that is inappropriate, offensive and wrong.'
The photos that led to Vlasto's testimony showed him appearing to get cozy with DeRosa (pictured) two weeks after she was married in 2016
When reached for comment, a spokesperson for James told DailyMail.com said that the unredacted testimony going public was a mistake
The pictures show DeRosa with her brand-new ring as she sits with Cuomo, who is wearing a white shirt and purple tie.
She is drinking red wine while he has some kind of cocktail — possibly a vodka and grapefruit juice — in front of him.
DeRosa and Wing split in 2021 after living apart for a year following what she called an 'emotionally and mentally trying' two years.
The pair met in 2013 while working in Cuomo's communications office. She rose to become Cuomo's most trusted aide and was a fixture at his Emmy-winning daily Covid-19 press briefings.
But behind the scenes, she worked to to limit the damage of sexual harassment allegations by 11 women against the three-term governor, according to a report published by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Despite the photos of the pair cozied up at dinner and the intense pressures of scandal, DeRosa and her soon-to-be ex-husband blamed Covid for the breakdown of their marriage, the Post reported.
'They simply grew apart, and they have been living apart for a year,' a friend told the Post.
'Their marriage broke down over time, and it was exacerbated during Covid, when they wound up in separate places. … Melissa spent time in Albany, and Matt works for Uber and spent some time in San Francisco,' the source added.
At the time Cuomo was in a long-term relationship with celebrity chef Sandra Lee. They were living together in her sprawling home in Mt. Kisco, New York until they eventually split in 2019
DeRosa rose to become Cuomo's most trusted aide and was a fixture at his Emmy-winning daily Covid-19 press briefings
Cuomo announced his run for mayor in early March.
The Democrat made the announcement on in a 17-minute video to his YouTube and social media channels.
The news comes just years after he resigned from office in 2021 after facing a slew of sexual harassment allegations, all of which he's denied.
He was accused of allegedly groping a former staffer and then-state worker Brittany Commisso in November 2020.
Commisso, who was his former executive assistant, claims that Cuomo subjected her to 'demanding tasks,' kissing and groping.
She filed a lawsuit against him in November 2022 after working for the former governor in the Executive Chamber from 2019 until August 2021.
Commisso alleged that Cuomo put her through 'humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses, sexual touching of the buttocks and forcible touching of the breast.'
She previously accused him of groping her inside the Executive Mansion and filed a criminal complaint against him which was later dropped.
Disgraced former NYC Governor Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor of the Big Apple
He resigned from office that year amidst a probe into his behavior by Attorney General James.
Following the accusations and him leaving his position, Cuomo subpoenaed a number of women who accused him of sexual harassment in an attempt to clear his name.
Cuomo sent the subpoenas to Commisso, Virginia Limmiatis, Ana Liss, Alyssa McGrath, Lindsey Boylan, five of the 11 women who accused him of sexual misconduct.
Cuomo previously tried to subpoena files from James' office along with investigation documents from the State Assembly.
In January 2022, former Albany County District Attorney Davis Soares dropped Cuomo's criminal complaint and announced that he would not face any other charges in relation to the groping allegations, citing lack of evidence.
Just days later, a judge dropped the criminal charge against Cuomo.
In addition to the scandal, Cuomo also faced claims that his administration lied about the number of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes across the Empire State - accusations which he has denied.
His comments about the deaths were recently released in September, as the embroiled Democrat reportedly asked, 'who cares?' while discussing the number of deaths in a closed-door meeting with the Republican-led House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Back in June, he testified behind closed doors for seven hours but that transcript has not been released.
The House subcommittee then issued a series of X posts that claimed Cuomo was 'shockingly callous' and showed 'little remorse for the thousands of lives lost' during that testimony.
According to the posts, Cuomo said: '…let's say there's a 3,000 [deaths] differential, 2,500. Who cares? What difference does it make in any dimension to anyone about anything?'
During the tense hearing, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wildly said that Cuomo committed 'murder' in his handling of the pandemic.
The ex-Governor repeated his previous arguments that his guidance was based on federal guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
'You signed the directive to put Covid-19 patients into nursing homes on March 25 which led to the murdering of people's parents, grandparents and great grandparents. Yes, murdering them,' Taylor-Greene fumed.
Before Lee, Cuomo had previously been married to Kerry Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Sr.'s seventh child and the sister of current Human Health and Services Secretary RFK Jr. They divorced in 2005.
They share three daughters together - Michaela, 27, and twins Cara and Mariah, 30. The couple divorced in 2005.
