Cuomo’s Top Aide, Melissa DeRosa, Resigns as He Fights to Survive

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said late Sunday that she had resigned, less than a week after the New York State attorney general released a report concluding Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women.

The report found that Ms. DeRosa, one of Mr. Cuomo’s most trusted confidantes and strategists, had spearheaded efforts to retaliate against one of the women who had spoken out publicly about her allegation in December.

Her resignation came just as Mr. Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, faces impeachment and calls for him to step down in the wake of the report.

Ms. DeRosa was a fixture in Mr. Cuomo’s coronavirus briefings during the pandemic, but had come under fire earlier this year for her involvement in the administration’s efforts to obscure the full extent of nursing home deaths, a matter that is under investigation by federal authorities and the State Assembly.

Ms. DeRosa, who is 38, said in a statement on Sunday that “the past two years have been emotionally and mentally trying.”

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve the people of New York for the past 10 years. New Yorkers’ resilience, strength, and optimism through the most difficult times has inspired me every day,” she said. “I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such talented and committed colleagues on behalf of our state.”

As secretary to the governor, Ms. DeRosa was the most powerful appointed official in the state. When Mr. Cuomo appointed her to the post in 2017, she became one of the youngest people to hold that position, and the first woman in the role. She joined the Cuomo administration in 2013 as communications director and was promoted two years later to chief of staff.

The attorney general’s report painted an unflattering picture of Ms. DeRosa and her role in fostering a toxic workplace and attacking the credibility of Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development official who had accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment in December.

After Ms. Boylan posted her allegation on Twitter, Ms. DeRosa orchestrated an effort among state officials and outside allies to leak Ms. Boylan’s personnel records, which contained sensitive information, to undermine her credibility. She also helped draft, review and circulate a disparaging letter which was never published, but nonetheless assailed Ms. Boylan’s character.

As part of those efforts, Ms. DeRosa also instructed a former staffer to call a female Cuomo staff member who had voiced support for Ms. Boylan on Twitter, mine her for information and record the phone conversation, the report said.

Mr. Cuomo’s lawyers have called the investigation by the state attorney general, Letitia James, biased and sloppy, while Mr. Cuomo has denied touching anyone inappropriately. He has said that some of the women may have misinterpreted his hugs, kisses on the cheek or jokes as improper.

Ms. DeRosa, considered one Mr. Cuomo’s most loyal aides, stood by the governor’s side for years even as his inner circle shrank in size and many of the top staffers who had helped elect him in 2010 left the administration.

As Mr. Cuomo’s right-hand woman, she was deeply involved in navigating the governor’s priorities through the State Legislature and helped Mr. Cuomo secure policies such as the $15 minimum wage and paid family leave. She was also chair of the New York State Council on Women and was vocal about women’s reproductive issues.