When Gov. Andrew Cuomo wasn’t busy hounding Republicans to investigate baseless claims of sexual assault against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, he was abusing almost a dozen women himself.
During Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, he was accused of sexually assaulting former classmate Christine Blasey Ford without evidence. Cuomo immediately took a strong stance against Kavanaugh, stressing the importance of giving women a voice, platform, and support system to address sexual assault.
While claims against Kavanaugh were entirely unsubstantiated, a recent New York Attorney General’s report found evidence Cuomo himself sexually harassed multiple women.
“This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law,” said Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. “I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get the truth. No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.”
James’s statement reads almost exactly like comments Cuomo released during Kavanaugh’s trial.
Cuomo released a statement in October 2018 that said Kavanaugh’s confirmation “will haunt us for as long as he is on the court.”
“In New York, we will not waver and never back down,” Cuomo said. “To Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and all survivors of sexual assault, we believe you and we will fight for you.”
That wasn’t the only time Cuomo bravely stood up for sexual assault survivors.
By his own standards, Governor Cuomo needs to resign. pic.twitter.com/mrKnNUmbBk
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) August 3, 2021
In September 2018, he said if a full investigation into claims of assault against Kavanaugh was not conducted, “the GOP is telling women how little they value them.” The same month, he chastised Republicans for the nomination, saying they “cowardly abdicated their constitutional duty and effectively said to every woman in this country that their voice matters less than a man’s. Shame on them.”
Cuomo used Kavanaugh to make a show of defending women, all while he had assaulted dozens of women, “by engaging in unwanted groping kisses, hugging and by making inappropriate comments.” Over 179 witnesses and 74,000 pieces of evidence proved Cuomo’s guilt. There was no evidence to prove that Kavanaugh ever even met Blasey Ford.
After allegations of sexual harassment surfaced, Cuomo said he would not step down.
“I’m not going to resign. I work for the people of the state of New York. They elected me, and I’m going to serve the people of the state in New York,” he said. “I’m going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do.”
If Cuomo were to stick to his own previous standards of how to best make women feel valued and heard, he should resign immediately.
Source: The Federalist