A Manhattan judge Thursday appeared to side with Andrew Cuomo in the disgraced ex-governor’s bid to have New York taxpayers fund his legal defense in a lawsuit accusing him of sexually harassing a female state trooper.

During over two hours of oral arguments, lawyers for Cuomo and for state Attorney General Letitia James’ office argued over whether Cuomo was acting within his duty as governor when the alleged harassment occurred — which would entitle him to a free defense.

“Conduct that underlies a sexual harassment claim is conduct that is based on personal motivations and does not serve the employer,” AG lawyer Andrew Amer said, arguing that Cuomo was not acting as governor at the time.

But Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Shlomo Hagler countered: “I have seen in cases of touching and hugging and unfortunate comments and jokes — there has been a [legal] defense in 99% of those cases.”

“It’s very rare there should be a denial in a sexual harassment case,” Hagler said. “It’s far and few between.”

The former three-term Democrat filed suit in August against James’ office, arguing that he is entitled to a state-funded defense in the trooper’s Brooklyn federal lawsuit alleging he made suggestive comments and inappropriately touched her.

If Cuomo can prove that he was acting within the scope of his job as governor when the alleged behavior occurred, then he would be entitled to a free legal defense funded by New York taxpayers.

Earlier in the hearing, the ex-gov’s lawyer Theresa Trzaskoma argued that “every interaction” that the accuser — who’s referred to as “Trooper 1” in the AG’s report on the office’s sexual misconduct probe into Cuomo — occurred while she was “protecting Governor Cuomo.”

“Except when he was sleeping, there was literally not a moment when the governor was not acting as the governor,” Trzaskoma said during the hearing held over video.

Hagler said he will rule in the case at a later date, asking lawyers for both sides to provide further arguments in court papers in late January.

Cuomo, 65, resigned in August 2021 amid the AG’s investigation into claims that he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women.

Other scandals against the governor also surfaced leading up to his resignation, including his alleged cover-up of COVID-19 nursing home deaths and his alleged use of staff to write a book on the pandemic.

He has denied the allegations.