Sexual misconduct allegations were alleged against New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday, a development that comes alongside news that Joe Biden reportedly considered Cuomo to be attorney general.
The allegations against Cuomo were made by one of his former advisers, progressive activist Lindsey Boylan. Boylan made the allegation on Twitter in a series of tweets on her experience with sexual harassment.
“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched,” she said. “I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.”
“Not knowing what to expect what’s the most upsetting part aside from knowing that no one would do a damn thing even when they saw it. No one. And I *know* I am not the only woman,” she continued. “I’m angry to be put in this situation at all. That because I am a woman, I can work hard my whole life to better myself and help others and yet still fall victim as countless women over generations have. Mostly silently. I hate that some men, like @NYGovCuomo abuse their power.”
The news comes as Biden has reportedly eyed Cuomo as a pick to be his attorney general, according to multiple news organizations.
“Cuomo has been asked in recent weeks about his interest in the attorney general spot,” The Associated Press reported. “Just this week, he said in a public radio interview in New York, ‘I have no intention to run for president or vice president, or go to the administration.’ But he said the attorney general job ‘is really critical, especially now.'”
Biden’s consideration of Cuomo for attorney general comes as his son Hunter is under federal criminal investigation over his foreign business dealings and his taxes. Biden’s brother is also reportedly caught up, to some extent, in a federal criminal investigation involving a healthcare company.
News that Biden is reportedly considering Cuomo for attorney general raised alarms with critics who brought up how Cuomo “hobbled” a commission, called the Moreland Commission, to weed out corruption in New York politics.
The New York Times reported:
A three-month examination by The New York Times found that the governor’s office deeply compromised the panel’s work, objecting whenever the commission focused on groups with ties to Mr. Cuomo or on issues that might reflect poorly on him.
Ultimately, Mr. Cuomo abruptly disbanded the commission halfway through what he had indicated would be an 18-month life. And now, as the Democratic governor seeks a second term in November, federal prosecutors are investigating the roles of Mr. Cuomo and his aides in the panel’s shutdown and are pursuing its unfinished business.
Before its demise, Mr. Cuomo’s aides repeatedly pressured the commission, many of whose members and staff thought they had been given a once-in-a-career chance at cleaning up Albany. As a result, the panel’s brief existence — and the writing and editing of its sole creation, a report of its preliminary findings — was marred by infighting, arguments and accusations. Things got so bad that investigators believed a Cuomo appointee was monitoring their communications without their knowledge. Resignations further crippled the commission. In the end, the governor got the Legislature to agree to a package of ethics reforms far less ambitious than those the commission had recommended — a result Mr. Cuomo hailed as proof of the panel’s success.