Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) on Wednesday called for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign in the wake of twin scandals over his handing of data on coronavirus deaths in the state’s nursing homes and allegations of sexual harassment by a former aide.
In a Medium post published earlier Wednesday, Lindsey Boylan, the former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to Cuomo, alleged the governor made unwanted advances toward her, including attempting to kiss her on the mouth. Boylan alleges that Cuomo’s top female staff members “normalized” the governor’s conduct. In October 2017, Cuomo invited her to play “strip poker,” she wrote.
“Governor Cuomo has earned his title as Worst Governor in America, and now every New Yorker knows that he is a criminal sexual predator,” Stefanik said in a statement. “On December 14th, I was one of the first and one of the only elected officials in New York State to call for an investigation into Governor Cuomo’s sexual harassment of Ms. Boylan. It is an inexcusable disgrace that almost every other elected official in New York State quietly brushed this serious and credible allegation under the rug. Sadly, much of the media in the state either ignored this matter or chose to report the sexist character and professional smears of Ms. Boylan by Governor Cuomo’s taxpayer-funded staff.”
Governor Cuomo earned his title as Worst Governor in America, and now every New Yorkers knows that he is a criminal, sexual predator. He must immediately resign.
FULL STATEMENT ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/7WBKuzOlhh
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) February 24, 2021
“I have served in Congress during the height of the #MeToo movement leading to resignations and retirements of my colleagues,” Stefanik added. “Sexual harassment and sexual abuse in the workplace is not a political issue, it is about right and wrong. Governor Cuomo must immediately resign. And any elected official who does not immediately call for his resignation is complicit in allowing a sexual predator to continue leading the great state of New York.”
Boylan’s allegations come as Cuomo’s administration is under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn following reports that the governor’s top aide told Democrat lawmakers that officials withheld the nursing home data due to concerns that the figures could “be used against us” in a federal investigation.
The New York Post first reported on the bombshell admission.
New York state lawmakers have since called for Cuomo’s emergency powers, granted during the coronavirus pandemic, to be stripped from him.
There have been more than 13,000 confirmed and presumed-positive coronavirus deaths of nursing home residents since March 1, 2020, with about 4,091 of those deaths occurring after the resident was transported out of a nursing home, according to an update posted Monday on the health department’s website. There were also about 1,743 such deaths among residents of other adult-care facilities since March, the new data showed, with about 1,493 of those deaths occurring after the resident was transported elsewhere.
The UPI contributed to this report.
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