As Albany newspaper the Times Union reported on January 3, the New York state capital’s district attorney’s office announced it would not move forward with charges against Andrew Cuomo involving an allegation made by a former aide, who claimed the then-governor groped her while under his employ. 

In a follow-up from The New York Times, Albany District Attorney Eric Soares issued a statement highlighting that the reason the D.A.’s office chose not to move forward with prosecuting Cuomo had nothing to do with the veracity of the aide’s claims. “While many have an opinion regarding the allegations against the former governor, the Albany County D.A.’s Office is the only one who has a burden to prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt,” Soares said. “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.”

News of the dropped investigation came the same day as the Manhattan district attorney’s office announced it would not move forward in charging Cuomo for the alleged cover-up of COVID-19-related nursing home deaths, per ABC News. Cuomo nor his representatives have commented on the Albany district attorney’s decision as of this writing.