Charlotte Bennett, one of the women accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, Wednesday called for his immediate impeachment and accused him of "victim-blaming" with his denials about the revelations in a report released by state Attorney General Letitia James.
"It wasn't an apology and he didn't take accountability for his actions," Bennett, appearing with her attorney, told ABC's "Good Morning America." "He can't once apologize and then say he didn't do anything wrong. He blamed me and said I simply misinterpreted what he had said, but his line of questioning was not appropriate."
During his statement denying the report's findings, Cuomo mentioned Bennett, a former assistant of his by name, and said that he had been talking to her because 'I thought I could help her work through a difficult situation'" after she shared with him that she is a survivor of sexual assault.
He also admitted that he did ask questions to try to see if she had "positive supportive dating relationships."
Bennett was 23 years old when Cuomo hired her to be his assistant, according to reports. Wednesday, she told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos that Cuomo's actions went further than he admits.
"He was coming onto me," said Bennett, adding that in his comments Tuesday, the Democrat governor "insinuated that survivors of trauma and sexual assault can't tell the difference between mentorship and leadership and sexual harassment itself, which is not only insulting to me but every survivor who listened to him yesterday. The victim-blaming is not okay."
Still, Bennett said she feels vindicated after James said in her statement on the report that she and the other 10 women filing complaints "were believed and that was powerful, and so much more important than anything the governor had to say."
Bennett said it took some time for the sexual harassment claims to come out against Cuomo because people, including her, fear him.
"He has been an establishment political figure for so long and he rules by fear," Bennett said. "He is scary. I was scared. I didn't know where to turn. When I was still working in New York State I vowed to myself to never speak of this. I was horrified in the moment and that's the reason why I no longer work there."
She also called for Cuomo's immediate impeachment, because "based on his apology, which was not much of an apology at all yesterday, it seems like he's not living in reality. So, it's up to us to take action and it's really the responsibility of Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie to impeach him immediately. You know, September is not soon enough, this needs to happen now. He's a danger, we have the facts, and Carl Heastie needs to, you know, get to it."
Bennett also appeared on NBC's "Today", where said she and Cuomo had initially had a positive working relationship but it became inappropriate when Cuomo "started asking questions about, you know, my sex life and if I was monogamous and if I could have a healthy sexual relationship."
She told NBC senior national correspondent Kate Snow, who asked her opinion about Cuomo's intentions, that he had "said he was lonely. He said he was looking for a girlfriend. He was propositioning me for sex."
Attorney Mariann Wang, who represents accusers Alyssa McGrath and Virginia Limmiatis, also spoke with Snow and said that Cuomo's statement back in March, when he said he "never touched anyone inappropriately," was a "real turning point for my clients. They really felt that he just looked at the camera and made a bold-faced lie."
McGrath still works for Cuomo, said Wang and her client calls his behavior inappropriate. Limmiatis, meanwhile, is the former staffer who has accused Cuomo of running two fingers across her chest, and Wang said her client "did not know how to react and all she immediately felt was deep, deep shame. Which is, unfortunately, what so many women feel."