A onetime aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has voluntarily dismissed a federal lawsuit she had filed against him and several of his aides two years ago alleging he sexually harassed her and then smeared her reputation after she became the second woman to publicly accuse him of misconduct.

According to statements from Charlotte Bennett and her attorney Debra Katz posted on X on Monday, Bennett will drop the case against Cuomo and top aides Melissa DeRosa, Jill DesRosiers and Judith Mogul, but the suit against the state, her employer at the time, will proceed.

“Former Governor Andrew Cuomo can no longer use this lawsuit to harass me and my family. His abusive filings and invasive subpoenas are meant to humiliate and retaliate against me and those who have supported me over the last five years of this living nightmare. Mr. Cuomo’s letter to the Court last week is yet another example of this and I have had enough,” Bennett said in a statement.

Katz alleged that Cuomo made a number of “invasive discovery requests” in an effort to humiliate her.

“Mr. Cuomo has used these legal proceedings to punish Ms. Bennett and others who reported his sexual harassment, and to cause more harm to her, all at the expense of New York taxpayers,” Katz said. “On behalf of Ms. Bennett, and in support of all who have faced sexual harassment by powerful men like former Governor Cuomo, we will continue to seek justice in our action against the State of New York.”

Bennett filed the suit against the former governor in federal court in New York City in September 2022, alleging Cuomo subjected her to unwanted advances, including telling her he was “lonely” and on the hunt for a girlfriend and asking her if she would be open to sex with an older man.

Cuomo resigned as governor in August 2021 after state Attorney General Letitia James released the results of an investigation that concluded Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women, including Bennett. Bennett played a critical role in Cuomo's eventual downfall. At the time she came forward with her accusations, only one other woman, Lindsey Boylan, had spoken publicly about being harassed by the governor.

When Bennett initially told her story to The New York Times, Cuomo appeared to acknowledge that he had hurt her with comments inappropriate for a workplace, but denied that he was making sexual advances. He claimed Bennett had misinterpreted his comments.

"Ms. Bennett's decision to drop her baseless lawsuit should be viewed as a complete capitulation and a desperate attempt to avoid being confronted with the mountains of exculpatory discovery-- including contemporaneous texts and videos that the AG’s office never obtained-- that completely refute her claims against Governor Cuomo," Cuomo lawyers Rita Glavin and Theresa Trzaskoma said in a statement Monday. "After falsely smearing Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett suddenly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false and her claims had no merit. If New York State does give in to her public pressure campaign and settles, it will not be on the merits and should require the public release of all the evidence so that New Yorkers finally know the truth: Governor Cuomo never sexually harassed anyone."