Accuser: Talk of Cuomo as AG spurred her to come forward

NY governor says he won’t resign, but will cooperate with investigation

New York — One of the women who accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexually harassing her at the workplace said she was motivated to come forward after another woman contacted her sharing similar allegations and following the Democratic governor’s name being floated as a potential nominee for a cabinet position in President Joe Biden’s administration.

“I woke up the next day, and the governor was being floated for attorney general, the highest law enforcement position in the U.S.,” former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan told Harper’s Bazaar in an article published Thursday. “And I didn’t think about it at all … I began tweeting about my experience.”

The 36-year-old Boylan, who worked for Cuomo’s team from March 2015 to October 2018, first tweeted about an abusive workplace environment in the administration.

She said it was after the unnamed woman reached out to her with a story of being harassed by Cuomo that she decided to come forward with her own story of sexual harassment in a series of Twitter posts in December.

Boylan elaborated on her accusations in a Feb. 24 Medium post in which she said Cuomo once suggested a game of strip poker and on another occasion kissed her without her consent.

Two additional women have made accusations against the 63-year-old Cuomo since then. Charlotte Bennett, 25, a former low-level aide said Cuomo quizzed her about her sex life and told her he would consider dating “anyone above the age of 22.” Anna Ruch, 33, told The New York Times that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her after meeting her at a September 2019 wedding.

Facing calls for his resignation, Cuomo said Wednesday he would remain in office but apologized for acting “in a way that made people feel uncomfortable.” He said he would cooperate with an investigation headed by state Attorney General Letitia James, a fellow Democrat.