ALBANY, N.Y. — A memoir from the highest aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the course of the deadliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 ladies, will come out within the fall.
Union Square & Co. will launch “What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics, and Crisis,” on Oct. 24.
Melissa DeRosa was secretary to the governor from 2017 till she resigned in August 2021, simply earlier than Cuomo introduced his personal resignation. She was the primary girl to carry the highly effective place – and was recognized for showing on the governor’s aspect throughout his day by day pandemic briefings, sometimes answering reporters’ detailed coverage questions.
She was amongst Cuomo’s chief defenders, and a lightning rod for critics of how the administration dealt with the pandemic and harassment allegations towards the governor. Cuomo has denied these allegations.
In a telephone interview this week, DeRosa described the ebook as an opportunity for her to mirror, to set the file straight and to offer an insider’s account of tumultuous occasions.
DeRosa says “nothing goes unaddressed” within the ebook.
“It’s my turn … to give a different perspective from the person who was in the room, from the person who lived it, not from someone who was sitting on the sidelines throwing stones,” she stated.
She had been with the administration since 2013.
DeRosa declined to preview any of the “fly on the wall” accounts within the ebook or to offer her present opinion of Cuomo, saying solely that “he can defend himself.”
Early within the pandemic, Cuomo was broadly seen as a reassuring determine, however his administration got here beneath fireplace after revelations that it had launched an incomplete accounting of the variety of deaths at nursing houses and assisted residing services.
In explaining the administration’s delays in releasing knowledge, DeRosa had stated officers “froze” over worries that the data was “going to be used against us” by then-President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
DeRosa additionally was repeatedly talked about in Attorney General Letitia James’ report investigating sexual harassment allegations towards Cuomo. The report stated DeRosa performed a key function in making an attempt to guard Cuomo from harassment claims.
“I think that a lot of people have had a lot to say that has gone unchallenged,” DeRosa stated. “That ends in the fall when this book comes out.”
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