Scandals spark new interest in 2022 race
As the New York governor fights for his political survival, and his apology over the weekend doing little to appease his critics, several potential candidates are already eyeing a run for his seat.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose political future looked golden 11 months ago, is now fighting for survival after two former aides accused him of sexual harassment and his administration acknowledged withholding data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths.
Here’s a rundown of the allegations against Cuomo, how he has responded and where the investigations stand.
First accuser
Lindsey Boylan, Cuomo’s former deputy secretary of economic development and special adviser, wrote a 1,700-word post on the website Medium last week in which she said she was subjected to unwanted advances by Cuomo during her nearly two years working for the administration.
She said that on one occasion, the governor asked her if she wanted to play “strip poker” while they were traveling on a state-owned plane, and on another, he gave her an unwanted kiss on the lips as she was leaving his office. Boylan, 36, first made the allegations on Twitter in December.
Second accuser
In her Medium post, Boylan alleged Cuomo had “created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.” On Saturday, a second accuser came forward to support that characterization.
Charlotte Bennett, 25, a former aide who left the Cuomo administration in November, tweeted, “For those wondering what it’s like to work for the Cuomo admin, read @LindseyBoylan’s story.”
In a story that ran Saturday, Bennett told The New York Times that Cuomo, 63, had made her uncomfortable with questions about her sex life, whether she would consider dating an older man and a comment that he would be willing to have a relationship “with anyone above the age of 22.”
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” she told The Times.
Cuomo’s initial responses
When Boylan first came forward in December, Cuomo said that “the tweets were simply not true.”
“Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has a right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has, but it’s just not true,” he said.
The governor’s office repeated his denial after Boylan’s post on Medium last week and released a statement from four current and former aides who said they would have been on the October 2017 flight where Cuomo allegedly brought up strip poker. “We were on each of these October flights and this conversation did not happen,” they read.
‘Misinterpreted’ comments
On Sunday, Cuomo apologized for any behavior that offended anyone, without addressing any specific claims against him aside from a vague reference to questions that “have been raised about some of my past interactions with people in the office.” He said in his statement: “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.”
The investigation
Cuomo initially resisted calls to refer the sexual harassment allegations to James so the attorney general could grant an independent investigator subpoena power. Instead, he proposed it be directed by former U.S. District Judge Barbara Jones, who once worked as a partner in a law firm with one of Cuomo’s closest advisers. The proposal was met with accusations that Cuomo was trying to control the inquiry.
Cuomo next proposed the investigator be jointly selected by James and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, whom he appointed. But after James flatly rejected the idea and criticism mounted, Cuomo agreed to give James sole authority to select who will conduct the probe.
COVID-19 deaths
Cuomo’s administration already is facing a federal investigation for its handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes before the call for an investigation into the harassment allegations.
The federal investigation was launched after top aide Melissa DeRosa acknowledged holding back key death data and information from lawmakers and the public after receiving an inquiry from the Justice Department last year.
Just less than a year ago, Cuomo’s daily press briefings during the first weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States brought calls for him to launch a late entry into the crowded Democratic presidential primary.
But the state’s acknowledged undercounting of nursing home deaths from the coronavirus and the scrutiny over an order March 25 to allow nursing home residents in hospitals to return home with COVID-19 has put his political future in jeopardy.