Twice-failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday suggested that the sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) should be thoroughly investigated.
In December, former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan alluded to sexual harassment in a Twitter post, which was largely ignored by mainstream media outlets. Last week, she finally detailed her allegations against the governor. Days later, a second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, came forward with her own allegations. On Monday, The New York Times reported the accusations of a third woman, Anna Ruch.
“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,” Clinton said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “I’m glad to see that there will be a full, independent, and thorough investigation.”
This is a different approach than what Clinton took when her own husband, former President Bill Clinton, was accused of sexual harassment and rape. Hillary at that time allegedly called his accusers “trailer trash.”
Clinton’s comments come after New York Attorney General Letitia James called for an investigation into the allegations against Cuomo that went further than the investigation he called for himself.
“To clarify, I do not accept the governor’s proposal. The state’s executive law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral,” James wrote on Twitter. “While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DeFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task. The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.”
CNN reported at the time that Cuomo’s original request to hand-pick Federal Judge Barbara Jones to investigate the allegations against him was dropped due to the “perception of a lack of independence of inference of politics.”
On Monday, the day after James’ tweet, she announced “that Cuomo’s office had sent her a letter allowing her to conduct an independent investigation,” Fox reported.
As The Daily Wire previously reported, Boylan accused Cuomo of numerous instances of sexual harassment, which he has denied, alleging he suggested they play “strip poker” while on a taxpayer-funded jet (others on the trip also deny this happened) and he was constantly touching her on her “lower back, arms and legs.” She also claimed he wanted her around often because she looked like a woman he used to date. Boylan also claimed Cuomo kissed her on the lips once without her permission.
Bennett claimed Cuomo asked her about her sex life and whether she had sex with older men. Ruch claimed that at a wedding Cuomo put his hand on her lower back and that when she removed it he called her “aggressive” and put his hands on her cheeks, asking if he could kiss her.
“I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed,” Ruch told the Times. “I turned my head away and didn’t have words in that moment.”
Ruch’s account was corroborated by a friend who heard Cuomo ask for a kiss and photographs of him with his hands on Ruch’s face.