Alleged sexual assaulter and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking a return to public office to aid New York Democrats—this time as attorney general, the New York Post reported.
According to the report, insiders confirmed the suspicion, and suggested that Cuomo and his camp are testing the waters.
“People in Cuomo’s orbit are tossing it out there,” a person with direct knowledge told The New York Post. “They’re floating it … and gauging people’s reactions.”
Current state Attorney General Letitia James recently announced her candidacy for governor. This leaves the position open for the taking.
While it is unclear whether campaign hostilities would spill out into the open between the two Democrats, Cuomo has previously accused James of having political motives in pursuing the probe against him with such vigor.
Cuomo apparently has stashed away great sums of money—$18 million—with which he hopes to buy the public office.
Further, Cuomo has experience on the job, having served as state attorney general from 2007 to 2010.
Yet Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesman, denied that his boss was considering a run for attorney general, suggesting that the former governor’s popularity has led to such speculation.
“There is a ton of idle speculation out there and we can’t control if we continue to take up valuable real estate in people’s heads,” Azzopardi said.
Last week, Cuomo himself did not deny claims that he might run for office when interviewed by New York magazine.
“I don’t know what the future holds,” Cuomo said, as he makes the public-relations rounds.
The embattled governor made sure to emphasize that he has moved on from the old scandals and suggesting that his name will eventually be cleared.
One accuser, Brittany Commisso, claimed that Cuomo groped her, and that he routinely made creepy comments.
“He would make comments about if I wore a particular thing, how thin I looked,” Commisso said. “That I looked good for my age and being a mother.”
“When I wore a dress, he would comment about how it’s about time that you showed some leg,” she added.
Nonetheless, the governor remains satisfied with himself.
“I’m at peace,” Cuomo claimed. “Look, it’s simple: I trust the people and the truth will out.”
