Zohran Mamdani and his lefty allies slammed for trying to tie Cuomo to dead sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein without evidence: ‘Hypocritical'

New York Post

a day ago

It's a Cuo blow.
Mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani and his lefty allies are hitting below the belt by trying to tie rival Andrew Cuomo to dead sex predator Jeffrey Epstein without evidence, critics contend.
The Epstein smear against Cuomo simmered behind-the-scenes for weeks, but erupted into ugly public view Tuesday when Mamdani released a campaign video mentioning both in the same breath.
'That's the thing about Andrew Cuomo: once you think you've found out about all of his scandals, you find out about another,' Mamdani ominously charged in the 90-second video, calling for the former governor to release his 'client list.'
Mamdani isn't alone among New York City progressives attacking Cuomo and other, more-moderate Democrats by invoking Epstein — who remains the subject of national interest more than half a decade after his death.
Councilman Chi Ossé (D-Brooklyn) posted on social media this week that Cuomo appears in Epstein's infamous contact list.
3 Mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani is under fire for insinuating his rival Andrew Cuomo has a connection with Jeffrey Epstein.
YouTube/@ZohranforNYC
One-time Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Blake also piled on, posting Tuesday, 'I don't know about you, but, I'm not on the Epstein contact list. Does someone want to phone his friend Andrew Cuomo to ask what they talked about?'
Both attacks were mild compared to Cuomo's ex-aide Howard Glaser's nuclear meltdown spate of posts accusing the former governor of physical abuse, carousing outside his marriage and shady ties to Epstein.
'Though now is probably a good time to point out that Andrew is on Epstein's contact list,' Glaser wrote, with a screenshot showing just that.
Cuomo wasn't the only moderate Dem to recently faced a scurrilous jibe from a progressive linking them to Epstein.
City Comptroller Brad Lander, a Mamdani ally, drew fire last month for joking that Mayor Eric Adams is in the so-called 'Epstein files,' despite there being no hint that Hizzoner has even a tenuous tie to the convicted sex offender.
The decision by President Trump's administration not to release files related to the Epstein case has sparked a rift in the Republican MAGA world, and Dems now appear to be jumping into the fray of the growing controversy.
3 Andrew Cuomo has hammered Mamdani in recent days over his $2,300 apartment.
Matthew McDermott
'It's an outrage. It's disgusting,' said former Brooklyn Democratic leader Frank Seddio, a Cuomo backer, about Mamdani's take-no-prisoners campaign video.
'They complain about Donald Trump making statements without merit. Mamdani is winning the award for it. It's hypocritical for Mamdani and progressives to do that, to use innuendos,' Seddio seethed.
Mamdani's ad came after Cuomo spent days hammering him over his $2,300-a-month rent-stabilized apartment.
The video kicks off by recapping the sexual harassment accusations — which Cuomo vehemently denies — that led the former governor to resign, before dredging up still-unanswered questions about his recent, seemingly lucrative consulting work.
The work included a luxury marina project with longtime Cuomo pal Andrew Farkas, who — as Mamdani dramatically emphasizes in the video — did similar projects with Epstein.
Epstein was found hanged in a Manhattan federal jail cell in 2019, while Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021.
Cuomo began the consulting work related to the 'list' Mamdani wants in 2022, the ex-governor's camp said.
The guilt-by-association insinuation by Mamdani contrasted wildly with his otherwise-sunny laser focus on affordability that catapulted him from socialist dark horse candidate to a stunning victory over Cuomo in the June Democratic mayoral primary.
'You don't have to contrive anything to go after Cuomo. Just bring up his record,' said John Kaehny, executive director of the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany, noting he was surprised that Mamdani slimed Cuomo with Epstein.
'Why mess with success?' Kaeny said. 'The Cuomo-Epstein attack is not consistent with the hope and future message that Mamdani successfully pushed during the primary. I don't think it's the best frame for him.'
Cuomo's name does appear in Epstein's infamous so-called 'Little Black Book,' a sprawling contact list compiled by the sex pest that includes Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Donald Trump and a slew of other business moguls, celebrities, intellectuals and politicians.
3 Cuomo has faced allegations he has vague ties to both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
ZUMA24.com
The former governor shares the entry 'Kennedy Cuomo,' referring to his ex-wife Kerry Kennedy. Cuomo's pal Andrew Farkas – the linchpin of Mamdani's recent innuendos – also appears in the book.
But for all the insinuations – and legitimate questions about Cuomo's unrelated consulting work – there appears no direct evidence that the ex-gov was friends with Epstein.
Farkas hit back at Mamdani's claims as 'inaccurate. Innuendo' and a 'dirty move intended to create noise.'
'This has been closely examined and determined to be much ado about nothing,' he told The Post Wednesday.
Still, the implication that Cuomo has ties to Epstein's sordid world appears to have struck a nerve.
Cuomo has hidden replies on his X account alleging that Ghislaine Maxwell – Epstein's accused accomplice and a convicted sex trafficker – attended his wedding to Kennedy in 1990.
One of Prince Andrew's distant cousins – Christina Oxenberg – made the accusation in a 2021 tell-all about Maxwell. Cuomo's camp at the time said the former governor had no recollection of Maxwell attending his wedding.
A Mamdani campaign source insisted the Epstein video had been in the works for awhile and was not a response to the apartment brouhaha.
Ross Wallenstein, a Democratic operative with Wall to Wall Communications, said Mamdani has nothing to lose.
'Mamdani obviously thinks this line of attack against Gov. Cuomo is effective,' he said. 'And it may very well be. If not, it's still only August. He can drop it tomorrow and try something else.
'Cuomo's approval is underwater. Attacking him doesn't hurt.'
Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said '1,000 percent' that Mamdani unleashed the Epstein smear because he was rattled by the ex-governor landing a blow on his apartment.
'The whole thing is BS,' Azzopardi said. 'It shows that Mamdani has a glass jaw. The moment Mandami is criticized for his wealth, privilege and abuse of the rent stabilization program, he freaks out and throws spaghetti against the well. Do people want a mayor like that?'
Cuomo, the son of former governor Mario Cuomo who lives in an $8,200-a-month luxury apartment, has long faced accusations that he's a thin-skinned bully.