Even when they “lose,” wealthy white men never lose. Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo will not be facing any criminal charges for his alleged acts of forcible touching, CNBC reports. Cuomo was set to appear in court in Albany this week to begin the trial for a criminal charge brought by the Albany District Attorney’s office; but in a suspiciously well-timed turn of events, the DA’s office released a statement saying the misdemeanor charge would be dropped and the case against Cuomo dismissed. The statement, which was posted on the Albany County website, claims:
While many have an opinion regarding the allegations against the former Governor, the Albany County DA’s Office is the only one who has a burden to prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. While we found the complainant in this case cooperative and credible, after review of all the available evidence we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial. As such we have notified the Court that we are declining to prosecute this matter and requesting the charges filed by the Albany County Sheriff be dismissed.
District Attorney David Soares went on to encourage victims of workplace harassment to continue coming forward with their stories so that “important discussion can continue,” as if that’s the same as justice.
The now-dropped charge against Cuomo was related to a complaint filed against him in December by an aide who said that he forcibly touched her breast while the two of them were at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Last week, the Westchester County DA also declined to bring Cuomo up on criminal charges for allegations by two women for unwanted advances. In that case, District Attorney Mimi Rocah had similar sentiments to Soares stating, “In both instances, my office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York.”