De Blasio demands independent probe into Cuomo sexual harassment claims by Lindsey Boylan
Accusations that Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed a former staffer should get “a full and independent investigation,” Mayor de Blasio said Thursday — a day after the shocking allegations came to light.
“These allegations are really disturbing. Let’s be clear about that — they’re really disturbing,” de Blasio said. “We’ve gotta take this seriously. When a woman comes forward with this kind of very specific allegation, they have to be taken seriously. We need a full and independent investigation. I want to emphasize the word independent.”
De Blasio added that whoever does probe the allegations against Cuomo shouldn’t be “compromised” or “dominated” by the governor’s office.
“This is just unacceptable. This kind of behavior, if it’s true, is unacceptable in any public servant, in anybody,” de Blasio said. “We gotta get the truth about this.”
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, dropped the bombshell accusations against Cuomo on Wednesday in an essay in which she wrote about Cuomo kissing her on the mouth against her will and suggesting the two play strip poker during a taxpayer-funded plane trip.
“Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected,” she wrote. “His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences.”
Boylan went on to detail how Cuomo’s attention to her evolved from a “crush” her supervisor told her about in 2016 to something Boylan described as “pervasive harassment.”
Later that year, Boylan wrote that Cuomo showed her a cigar box he received as a gift from former President Bill Clinton.
“The two-decade-old reference to President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky was not lost on me,” she added. “The governor must have sensed my fear because he finally let me out of the office. I tried to rationalize this incident in my head. At least he didn’t touch me.”
That, Boylan wrote, would come later.
She went on to claim that in 2017, on a plane ride home from an event in Western New York, Cuomo said, “Let’s play strip poker.” A year later, after being promoted to be Cuomo’s special advisor, Boylan said she was alone with the governor in his Third Avenue office and that he “stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips.”
“I was in shock, but I kept walking,” she said.
Boylan first revealed accusations against Cuomo in December, saying at the time that he “sexually harassed me for years,” but declining to elaborate on her allegations.
Cuomo denied those accusations at the time himself. On Wednesday, a Cuomo spokeswoman issued a second denial.
“As we said before, Ms. Boylan’s claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false,” spokeswoman Caitlin Girouard said.
Despite the repeated denials, Boylan’s accusations have also led Cuomo’s colleagues in the federal government to weigh in.
Sen. Chuck Schumer — who, like de Blasio, is often at odds with Cuomo — didn’t weigh in on the specifics of the accusations, but his spokesperson Angelo Roefaro said that “sexual harassment is never acceptable and must not be tolerated.”
“Any credible allegation should be thoroughly investigated,” he added.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand — a New York Democrat like Schumer — said Thursday she had not yet read Boylan’s allegations, but that “everyone has a right to be able to come forward, speak their truth and be heard.
“That’s true for her, and it’s also true for Gov. Cuomo,” she said.
Boylan’s latest more detailed claims come at a politically perilous time for Cuomo.
Critics have continued to slam him for his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some accusing him of a coverup and obstruction of justice and others calling for his impeachment.
Cuomo is also in hot water for an exchange with Assemblyman Ron Kim, who accused Cuomo of threatening to unleash his “wrath” on the lawmaker for remarks he made about the nursing home scandal.
Many elected officials, including de Blasio, have publicly supported Kim, saying that they believe he has told the truth.
With Chris Sommerfeldt and Michael McAuliff
