Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attorneys are set to question the therapist of one of his sexual harassment accusers as Cuomo's opponents in the New York City mayor’s race continue to criticize his efforts to clear his name.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl issued an order late last week quashing a subpoena Cuomo’s attorneys sent to the mother of a woman known in court documents as Trooper 1, who is suing the former governor for harassment in federal court. But Merkl upheld a separate subpoena Cuomo’s legal team sent to the trooper’s therapist, allowing them to schedule a deposition with her in the coming weeks.
Cuomo’s latest evidence demands aim to get at the question of whether the trooper, whose identity has been protected by the courts, suffered from mental anguish while working for the governor. The trooper’s attorney, Valdi Licul, sought to kill the subpoenas, arguing Cuomo — now an independent mayoral candidate — filed them too late in the discovery process.
Trooper 1 has accused Cuomo of making sexualized, unwanted comments and touching her back and waist while she was a member of his protective detail. She was one of 11 women whose accusations were included in a 2021 report issued by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office that concluded Cuomo violated state sexual harassment law, which Cuomo denies. Under mounting political pressure, Cuomo formally requested James' office to investigate the claims, but then dismissed her report -- which led to his resignation -- as politically motivated.
In her order, Merkl chastised Cuomo for waiting so long to file the subpoenas in a lawsuit that was first filed more than three years ago. But she allowed Cuomo’s attorneys to question the therapist, Kiran Miner, agreeing with the former governor that it could help form his defense.
“Cuomo has advanced sufficient information to establish that [the therapist’s] anticipated testimony, as [the trooper’s] treating talk therapist, is highly relevant to [Cuomo’s] defenses and to an evaluation of [the trooper’s] claims of emotional distress,” Merkl wrote in her order.
Therapy patients are protected by patient confidentiality rules. But that confidentiality is often considered waived when a patient files a civil lawsuit where their mental health or anguish is central to their claim.
Miner and the attorneys for the trooper and Cuomo did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
The magistrate judge’s order, issued late Friday, comes as Cuomo continues to face criticism from his opponents in the mayor’s race about his legal defense tactics in a number of civil cases accusing him of harassment while governor. Democrat Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa have repeatedly criticized Cuomo for his alleged harassment and his taxpayer-funded legal defense, including during last week’s mayoral debate.
The former governor’s wide-ranging discovery demands have included subpoenas for phone records and, in one case, gynecological records from his alleged victims. His legal costs, meanwhile, are covered by taxpayers under state law since the lawsuits focus on his conduct while on the job.
“If Cuomo was serious about the affordability crisis facing New Yorkers, he would immediately stop using taxpayer money on his selfish revenge quest,” Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said in a statement earlier this year.
Cuomo, who stepped down as governor in 2021, has argued his evidence demands are necessary to defend himself in civil court against harassment claims he disputes. He denies any wrongdoing and points to five district attorneys who declined to pursue criminal charges against him.
“There was [the AG’s report] that had allegations of harassment,” Cuomo said during last week’s debate. “I said at the time it was a political report and there was no basis to it.”
In trying to subpoena the trooper’s mother, Cuomo’s legal team argued the mother could shed light on the trooper’s “claimed emotional distress” and whether there were any alternative causes, such as her relationship with her family.
But Merkl decided against Cuomo in that instance, ruling that he failed to prove the mother’s “relevance and proportionality to the needs of the case.”
Merkl also rejected Cuomo’s subpoenas to a pair of independent medical examiners who have been involved in the case, at least one of which Cuomo’s attorneys had already deposed.
The trooper sued Cuomo in both federal and state court, though a state judge dismissed her claims against Cuomo and two of his aides last week. Among other reasons for dismissal, state Supreme Court Justice James d’Auguste ruled the trooper didn’t have a protected working relationship with Cuomo under New York City’s human-rights law, which she sued under.
Cuomo advisers Rich Azzopardi and Melissa DeRosa — the aides who were dismissed from the suit along with the former governor — accused the trooper and her legal team of trying to weaponize the court system and “cash out financially.”
“This frivolous case was malicious and meritless from the beginning, and we appreciate that yet another judge saw right through their false claims,” Azzopardi and DeRosa said in a joint statement.
The trooper’s attorney has said the trooper intends to appeal the state dismissal.
