On the afternoon of June 5, 2020, Charlotte Bennett broke down in a text message to a friend.
“My life is spiraling out of control,” she wrote.
“charlotte you need to leave,” her friend responded. “You need to get out right f------ now.”
Bennett’s friend told her to return to the Albany, New York, hotel where she’d been living and pack her bags like she wouldn’t be coming back, to write everything down with times and dates and to keep it all in a secure place.
“This workplace has been toxic from the start in every possible way and i PROMISE you this is not all there is,” her friend said. “I f------ promise this is not it.”
Bennett was responding to an interaction with her boss, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that had her about to “burst into tears” and “shaking,” according to screenshots included in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo. Bennett’s June texts — along with other messages, diary entries and emails — characterize the governor’s office as a toxic and abusive work environment.
