In an interview on NY1, Melissa DeRosa, one of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s most trusted confidantes, criticized the state attorney general and the women who made sexual misconduct claims that led to Cuomo’s resignation.

DeRosa last month released “What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis,” a memoir about her time in the Cuomo administration.

Cuomo resigned in August 2021 following a report released by State Attorney General Letitia James.  A number of Cuomo's long-time staffers left along with him, including DeRosa, who joined his administration in 2013.

The investigation included corroboration for 11 allegations of sexual harassment.

In an interview Thursday with NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall,” DeRosa characterized the report by James as “a total fraud, and we should all care about that, because it overturned a government.”

Among the claims included in the report included a state trooper assigned to Cuomo’s protective detail who accused the governor of sexual harassment and unwanted touching, and an unnamed executive assistant working in Cuomo's office who said they received unwanted touching and kisses by the governor beginning in late 2019.

DeRosa emphasized that she does not think that 11 women were lying.

“I think there was a weaponization of everyday interactions in order to drive that number up because the two or three more serious allegations couldn’t stand on their own,” she said.

DeRosa said she believes that “we’re in a very dangerous place right now.”

“Because when all of a sudden you’re combining kissing someone on the cheek and, or putting your hand on someone’s waist for a photograph and acting like that is harassment, or that in some way something that you should be calling for resignation on, then you risk not having more serious claims taken seriously,” she said.

In the aftermath of the report, a then-spokesperson for James defended the report and the accusations in it.

“There are 11 women whose accounts have been corroborated by a mountain of evidence," James spokesman Fabien Levy said on Aug. 6, 2021. "Any suggestion that attempts to undermine the credibility of these women or this investigation is unfortunate."