ALBANY — Andrew Cuomo is still getting his day in court, albeit virtually.
The former governor will appear before a judge via video on Friday after prosecutors decided not to pursue forcible touching charges against the disgraced Democrat.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced earlier in the week that his office was dropping the ex-governor’s groping case despite finding alleged victim, Brittany Commisso, “cooperative and credible.”
Judge Holly Trexler asked all parties in the case to appear before her as she weighs a formal dismissal of the misdemeanor complaint, which alleged Cuomo fondled Commisso’s breast while the two were at the Executive Mansion in late 2020.
“The Judge will be on the bench and has allowed all parties to appear virtually, including the defendant,” said New York Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucian Chalfen.
The virtual hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. in Albany City Court.
Cuomo, who resigned last August following the release of a bombshell report detailing multiple sexual harassment allegations against him, has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. A second report, following a scuttled impeachment inquiry conducted by the state Assembly, found “overwhelming evidence” Cuomo sexually harassed state employees.
Soares noted in a letter to Trexler that the multiple probes into Cuomo’s alleged misconduct led to “technical and procedural hurdles” with regards to disclosing evidence to the defense as required.
Several prosecutors across the state have said they believe other allegations made against Cuomo are credible, but that they couldn’t pursue criminal charges against the 64-year-old due to statutory constraints.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple’s office raised eyebrows by filing the misdemeanor forcible touching case against Cuomo in October without informing prosecutors.
Soares complained at the time that the charges were filed without his knowledge and called the case “potentially defective.”
In his letter to Trexler this week, Soares said that while he was “troubled by the allegations,” there was not sufficient enough evidence to move forward with the case.
Cuomo attorney Rita Glavin sent a separate request to Trexler to dismiss the case, noting issues raised with regards to Apple’s initial charging documents and Soares own admission that his office “cannot successfully prosecute this case.”
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