Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to accuse New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment in a widening scandal, slammed President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in a now-deleted tweet for staying silent on the allegations.
Most prominent New York Democrats, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kristen Gillibrand and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, have called on Cuomo to resign from his post over the allegations. But neither Harris nor Biden, who once described Cuomo as the “gold standard” of leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, has commented on the situation.
Boylan spoke out shortly after a defiant Cuomo denied wrongdoing following allegations by seven women, including Boylan, who accused the governor of sexual harassment and misconduct. During a press conference, Cuomo said he would not heed calls to resign from office and asserted “there are often many motivations for making an allegation,” in an apparent suggestion that his accusers had ulterior motives.
“The governor has denied all wrongdoing,” Boylan wrote on Twitter. “He got on his platform today and said “there are many motivations of why people do things.” He is calling up hate and speculation to be directed to his accusers. All harm and hate directed at the women sits squarely on @NYGovCuomo.”
“It also calls into question the judgment and courage of both @POTUS and @KamalaHarris,” Boylan added. She later deleted the second tweet
Boylan also criticized the White House last Sunday, tweeting the public was “seeing blue trolls harass me and other survivors” because Biden, Harris and other New York Democrats were “supporting it with their silence.” Several of the Democrats referenced in the tweet later called for Cuomo to resign.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki commented on the situation during a press briefing earlier Friday.
“The president believes that every woman who’s come forward — there have now been six, I believe, who have come forward — deserves to have her voice heard, should be treated with respect and should it be able to tell her story,” Psaki said.
Boylan, a former Cuomo administration staffer, penned a Feb. 24 blog post detailing several instances in which the governor engaged in alleged inappropriate behavior.
In the post, Boylan alleged that Cuomo asked her to play “strip poker” on a flight and kissed her on the lips during an encounter in his office, among other alleged transgressions. Cuomo has denied Boylan’s allegations.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation into the claims against Cuomo.
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