The new evidence and sworn testimony shows how much the former governor relied on his allies, including his younger brother, Chris Cuomo, to help him dodge sexual harassment charges.
The records show how the group of advisers discussed a series of increasingly drastic steps to manipulate the press, discredit his accusers and retain a grip on power after the first public accusation by a former aide, Lindsey Boylan.
They agreed to pass Ms. Boylan's personnel file to reporters to portray her as politically motivated and crazy. They tried to get former female aides and supporters to write an op-ed in defense of him.
Chris Cuomo wanted to take on a bigger role in crafting his brother's defense, including using his media contacts to keep an eye on reporters. At one point, he ran down a secondhand tip that another woman was lying when she said the governor had made unwanted advances at her at a wedding. She was not.
Chris Cuomo tried to convince the governor's secretary to rely on him and other outside advisers, like the political consultant and pollster, at one point in March.
He said that they are making mistakes they can't afford.
CNN said on Monday that the investigative documents need to be reviewed.
The company said in a statement that they will be having conversations and seeking more clarity about their significance as they relate to CNN.
The previously unseen materials, including video of the former governor answering questions under oath, were produced earlier this year by investigators working for Letitia James, New York's attorney general, and undergirded the damning report she released in August that ultimately led to Andrew Cuomo's resignation.
Ms. James had already given the public transcripts of her interviews with 10 women who had accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment.
The spokesman for the former governor accused Ms. James of acting out of malice towards Mr. Cuomo.
Tish James is abusing her government power to leverage her political future, and to the surprise of no one, she is. Today's manipulated release of witness testimony is typical.
Copies of text and email messages, as well as transcripts of depositions with many of Mr. Cuomo's closest aides, were included in the newly released records.
The stories of screaming matches, cursing, and deep distrust that they collectively tell are a portrait of the kind of toxic work culture that many of those testifying before the attorney general's team were trying to downplay as they fought to maintain their boss's job and their own.
In a text exchange, Ms. DeRosa explained why she was sharing call-in details for a strategy call. Ms. DeRosa said she berated two people, including one nicknamed "sponge" who was among Mr. Cuomo's accusers.
She said that she was on a real roll and that everyone sucks.
Mr. Azzopardi was asked if the governor had ever thrown him with fruit in anger. He claimed that the story was a lie.
Are you serious? Mr. Azzopardi said so. He testified that he had been yelled at. I yelled back at him.
Linda Lacewell, a former top aide to the governor, told investigators that when the governor's fate was first thrown into doubt, many of the group assembled in person at the Executive Mansion in Albany for a defacto war council. She said that many of the attendees, including Mr. Pollock and Ms. Smith, stayed overnight.
Mr. Azzopardi said that when he felt like he was in battle, he turned to those he trusted.
Chris Cuomo was clearly one of the people, and he appears to have played a larger role than he has previously been known.
The image is.
Chris Cuomo asked his brother's team to let him help with the prep as the governor dealt with the first wave of accusations.
Chris Cuomo told investigators that his brother asked him to be in the loop as the situation got worse. He said that he was a part of his brother's more formal advisers.
He told investigators that he had never done anything to benefit his brother. He told viewers of his show that he acted as a sounding board for his brother, advising him to tell the truth, whatever it was, and eventually to resign.
Card 1 of 4.
A wide inquiry. The findings of the New York State Assembly's investigation into Andrew Cuomo's behavior while in office and possible abuses of power were released. Here is what the report found.
Book a room. The report found that Mr. Cuomo used state workers to produce his book, and one assemblyman said that it would be reasonable to conclude a connection between the $5.1 million book deal and the manipulation of nursing home death data.
Chris Cuomo was more useful to those trying to help the governor cling to power because he was a journalist with a vast network of sources. He argued against his brother's resignation before a full investigation was conducted.
Chris Cuomo was the one who Ms. DeRosa turned to when she was trying to keep an eye on the journalists.
He wrote back after one such request. Ms. DeRosa wrote to the governor's brother that she had heard that Farrow was about to write a story. Can you check your sources?
In text messages with Ms. DeRosa in March, Chris Cuomo said he was in a panic about how the governor's team was handling the accusations and pleaded to "let me help with the prep" before drafting his own proposed statements for the governor to read.
He used his contacts to try to help the defense. Chris Cuomo had sent a text to Ms. DeRosa saying that he had a lead on the wedding girl.
He told investigators that the lead was bunk.
In a group text message with many of Andrew Cuomo's top advisers, Ms. Smith took another approach at minimizing the impact of the article, relaying a call she placed to a reporter to warn that publishing would sully The Times's reputation.
I told him that his story was pathetic and an embarrassment to the times, and that I was looking forward to mocking it and him on social media, and that it would further reduce their credibility on their issue.
In some cases, the testimony of Mr. Cuomo's aides and advisers suggested that they had acted without the governor's knowledge.
Mr. David said that he coordinated with Ms. DeRosa to release Ms. Boylan's personnel file to undermine her claims.
Ms. DeRosa only told Mr. Cuomo what they had done. She said that he asked if she made sure that this was legal. She said yes.
The three were out of a job in a matter of days after Ms. James reported what had happened. Ms. DeRosa and Mr. Cuomo resigned. Mr. David was fired by The Human Rights Campaign for violating his contract.
John was a contributor.
