Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) doubled down on her name for embattled New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to step down “instantly” after one other of his former staffers, the second since December, accused him of sexual harassment.
“Governor Cuomo is a felony sexual predator and he should instantly resign,” Stefanik mentioned in an announcement issued shortly after the New York Occasions revealed an in depth account of Cuomo’s former aide Charlotte Bennett, accusing the governor of undesirable sexual advances, on Saturday.
Stefanik famous that she “was one of many first and one of many solely elected officers to name on the Governor to resign on Dec 14th” – when his former staffer Lindsey Boylan first accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her “for years” – and urged “different New York State leaders to develop a backbone.”
“The New York Occasions article recounting Governor Cuomo’s sickening office sexual harassment and grooming of Ms. Bennett is so horrific it makes your pores and skin crawl,” Stefanik wrote.
To date, New York Metropolis Mayor Invoice de Blasio, Cuomo’s outdated rival, has been probably the most outstanding Democrat to name for “a full and unbiased investigation” into the allegations.
Chatting with the Occasions, Bennet, 25, claimed that she “felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” when Cuomo repeatedly requested her about her sexual life, together with whether or not she dated older males or is monogamous.
Whereas Boylan went public along with her allegations way back to in December, they didn’t turn into the discuss of the city on Twitter or within the mainstream media as was the case with Supreme Court docket nominee Brett Kavanaugh and his accusers again in 2018. Requires an investigation grew louder after Boylan got here ahead with particulars of Cuomo’s alleged misconduct a number of days in the past, claiming that Cuomo invited her to play strip poker and kissed her with out permission. However the bombshell didn’t spark an outpour of assist from high-profile celebrities aside from a lone name by actress-turned-activist Rose McGowanlike to research “monstrous” claims. CNN, employer of Cuomo’s brother, Chris Cuomo, has been accused of protecting the governor. On the Conservative Political Motion Convention (CPAC) on Friday, CNN’s Jim Acosta was grilled by The Federalist reporter on the community’s lackluster protection of the latest spate of scandals involving Cuomo.
The Media Analysis Heart, a conservative content material evaluation group, reported that CNN allotted 96 seconds to cowl Boylan’s sexual harassment claims in two days.
After Bennet got here ahead along with her story on Saturday, Cuomo introduced an “exterior evaluation” into the allegations, refusing to touch upon the claims additional till it was accomplished.
The allegations come at a time Cuomo is dealing with a seperate investigation by FBI and federal prosecutors into his administration underreporting the variety of nursing residence deaths by as a lot as 50 p.c, apparently to not give the Trump administration a political weapon in opposition to the Democratic celebration.
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