Cuomo accuser blasts governor over use of her photo in defence slideshow

Woman came forward after Cuomo used her photo in defence presentation

A woman who is one of nearly a dozen to come forward and accuse Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment said that the New York governor attempted to use a photo of their encounter in his own defense.

Susan Iannucci, a 61-year-old woman who met Mr Cuomo in 2018, told reporters at a press conference alongside attorney Gloria Allred on Tuesday that the governor kissed her without her consent when they met.

The initial encounter was bad enough, a tearful Ms Iannucci told journalists, but the governor took it a step further when he used a picture of himself kissing her on the cheek in a bizarre slideshow presented to the media last week in an attempt to defend Mr Cuomo’s conduct as normal and proper.

"I am being put in a position where I feel like I’m being used by Governor Cuomo to push a narrative that his habit of invading people’s personal space is justified. I am appalled to be in a position where I feel like I am being used in this manner," she said.

"I do not condone his actions toward any of the women who have come forward, and I do not appreciate being made to look as if do,” Ms Iannucci continued.

The governor announced his resignation, effective in two weeks, on Tuesday at a news conference after stubbornly refusing to resign for days following the release of a report from the state’s attorney general that found he committed violations of New York’s sexual harassment laws against nearly a dozen women.

Mr Cuomo remained steadfast in his denials of any inappropriate sexual contact on Tuesday, while admitting that a claim from a New York state trooper regarding the governor allegedly touching her lower back and stomach may be accurate, though he claimed to not remember the incident.

In his remarks, the governor said that the evolving scandal was too much of a distraction for the state as it battles a new wave of Covid-19 cases.

“Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that,” said Mr Cuomo.

“Thank you for the honour of serving you,” added the governor. “It has been the honour of my lifetime.”