New York Governor Cuomo Faces Sexual Harassment Allegations

By Gurman Sidhu

NEW YORK – Recently, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York found himself under public scrutiny. Governor Cuomo and his administration are being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S Attorney’s Office, and new voices have spoken out against Cuomo. Several of his former aides have told the public that he has sexually harassed them. 

Lindsey Boylan, a former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo, claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her and gave her an unwanted kiss in 2018. Boylan wrote, “As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips.” She first spoke of this encounter on Twitter back in December of 2020. This week she spoke about her encounter again. She continued to tweet, “Resign you disgusting monster, @NYGovCuomo.” 

Boylan has also claimed that on a flight with four of his other former and current aides, Gov. Cuomo suggested that they play strip poker. All of the other aides have denied this allegation related to this flight. 

In response to Boylan, the Governor’s office made statements both in December and this week. This week, the Governor’s Press Secretary said, “As we said before, Ms. Boylan’s claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false.” 

Also this week, 25-year-old Charlotte Bannett, a former aide to Gov. Cuomo, also accused the governor of sexual harassment. She told the New York Times that the governor asked her questions about her sex life. She said he asked her if she had ever had sex with older men. Bannett said her assessment of his questions was that he was attempting to pursue a sexual relationship. 

There are other accusers as well. One of them being the 35-years-old Ana Liss, who told the public that Cuomo kissed her hand once and proceeded to ask if she had a boyfriend. Boylan also publicly supported Liss. Boylan also supported Karen Hilton, who spoke out about an incident in 2000 when Cuomo was the head of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She said he grabbed her for a “very long” time and in a “too intimate” way. She said this took place in his hotel room in Los Angeles. 

Anna Ruch, who is 33 years old and has never worked for Cuomo, also accused him of harassment. Ruch said that he kissed her on the cheek and grabbed her at an event they both attended. 

Governor Cuomo faced a large amount of criticism these past few last weeks, with regard to these allegations and denied all of them directly to the public. He repeated that these women might have mistaken his intentions, which were never bad. He apologized to anyone that found his behavior inappropriate. He is now under an independent investigation for all of the allegations against him. 

Gurman Sidhu is a first-year Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior major at UC Davis from Union City, California.

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