A majority of voters in New York state think ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who last year resigned in disgrace, is “a serial sexual harasser” and reject his claims that he has been vindicated after nearly a dozen came forward to make charges, according to a new report.
“A total of 58 percent of voters think Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women during his tenure in Albany, compared to just 21 percent of respondents who believed he was innocent,” the New York Post reported. “The remaining voters surveyed had no opinion, according to the Siena College survey.”
According to the paper, those surveyed were told: “Cuomo presently faces no criminal charges for sexual harassment. He says that he’s been vindicated and that the whole investigation was a political hit job. Local prosecutors who declined to bring criminal charges against Cuomo said that while they believed the credibility of the women, there was not enough evidence to prosecute.”
Then they were asked: “Do you think Cuomo has or has not been vindicated?”
To that question, 56% said Cuomo has not been vindicated while 25% said he has.
Pollsters asked: “Who do you believe more? Andrew Cuomo, who says the investigation against him was a political hit-job? [Or] Attorney General Letitia James who says Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser?”
Again, Cuomo went down: 47% said they believe James more while just 27% sided with Cuomo.
James later decided not to pursue criminal charges, a move Cuomo said has vindicated him.
The former governor, 64, told Bloomberg News two weeks ago that he shouldn’t have resigned. “I never resigned because I said I did something wrong. I said, I’m resigning because I don’t want to be a distraction,” Cuomo said.
James’s office didn’t take the statement lightly. “No one, including Andrew Cuomo, can dispute the fact that multiple investigations found allegations of sexual harassment against him to be credible,” a spokesperson said in a statement, Bloomberg reported. “Only he is to blame for inappropriately touching his own staff and then quitting so he didn’t have to face impeachment. His baseless attacks won’t change the reality — Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser.”
Charlotte Bennett, 25, who worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration, was the first woman to come forward, telling The New York Times that the harassment began in the spring of 2020.
The Times reported that Bennett claimed Cuomo had asked her questions about her sex life, whether her relationships were monogamous, and whether she ever had sex with older men. The interview with the Times was prompted after Bennett reacted to the sexual harassment accusation against Cuomo made by ex-aide Lindsey Boylan, with Bennett tweeting, “For those wondering what it’s like to work for the Cuomo admin, read @LindseyBoylan’s story.”
Boylan wrote a lengthy article on Medium detailing her allegations against Cuomo, beginning with a suggestion the governor made while the two were on his taxpayer-funded jet during that they play “strip poker.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Boylan said she responded, claiming her statement was made “sarcastically and awkwardly” and that she “tried to play it cool.”
“Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected. His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences,” Boylan wrote.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent, and ran the Drudge Report from 2010 to 2015. Send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.
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Source: Dailywire
