Hillary Clinton: Cuomo Sexual Harassment Allegations ‘Raise Serious Questions’
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday supported an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“These stories are difficult to read, and the allegations brought forth raise serious questions that the women who have come forward and all New Yorkers deserve answers to,” she said in a statement.
“I’m glad to see that there will be a full, independent, and thorough investigation,” the former senator from New York added.
New York attorney general Letitia James announced on Monday that her office has received a referral from the Cuomo administration, allowing for an independent investigation of harassment claims by two former staffers.
Lindsey Boylan, the former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to Cuomo, on Wednesday published an essay detailing alleged sexual harassment she endured while working for the governor, including unwanted kissing and touching.
She wrote in the essay that Cuomo, with the help of top female aides, “created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.”
She also detailed an increasingly uncomfortable relationship she developed with the governor, in which he sought her out and set up one-on-one meetings with her.
Boylan recounted a flight she shared with the governor from an event in October 2017 in which Cuomo allegedly said, “Let’s play strip poker.”
On another occasion, Boylan says the pair met one-on-one for a briefing when Cuomo allegedly kissed her.
Days later, former health policy adviser Charlotte Bennett alleged that the governor harassed her in spring 2020, according to the New York Times. Bennett, 25, said Cuomo asked intrusive questions about her sex life, including an incident on June 5 during which the governor asked whether she was monogamous and if she had sex with older men.
Cuomo said that he “never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” However, the governor did not deny making the statements in question.
He has also denied Boylan’s claims.
