February 28, 2021

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Faces Rising Pressure to Resign After a Second Woman Accuses Him of Harassment

After fire from fellow Democrats, he backed off his pick for an investigator.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) at a September 9, 2020 press conference. Lev Radin/Pacific Press via ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat who has served as New York’s governor since 2011, is facing criticism from both parties and calls to resign after a second woman stepped forward to share her story of sexual harassment while working for him. Cuomo further angered critics by naming an investigator to look into the allegations—forcing him on Sunday to announce that he would not choose the investigator but leave that appointment to the state attorney general and the chief judge of the state’s highest court.

This latest crisis for the three-term governor began on February 24, when Lindsay Boylan, a former top aide at the state’s economic development agency, published an account of the harassment she suffered from Cuomo, including an unwanted kiss and a pattern of harassing behavior. Cuomo has denied her claims. On Saturday, the New York Times published the account of a second woman who was harassed by the governor. “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former executive assistant and health adviser, told the Times.

Cuomo told the Times that he had “never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” Instead, he insisted, he was merely acting as a “mentor.” He also named an independent investigator to look into the allegations—but chose a former federal judge who worked closely with one of his longtime advisers. The selection only ignited more criticism. 

“I believe the Attorney General should make an appointment to ensure that it is a truly independent investigation,” New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said on Twitter. Kathleen Rice, a Democratic congresswoman from New York, was among the critics. “The accused CANNOT appoint the investigator. PERIOD.” she tweeted.

A small number of progressive Democrats have joined Republicans in calling for Cuomo’s resignation, according to the New York Times. 

The accusations of sexual harassment come as his administration is already under investigation for undercounting the number of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in New York. He explained the undercount was because of his concern that the real numbers would have become politicized. The scandals have emboldened progressives thinking about taking on Cuomo in next year’s gubernatorial elections. The mounting criticism is a change of fortune for the New York governor, whose televised press conferences during the spring about the state’s pandemic response earned him praise, and even an Emmy award.

On Sunday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President Joseph Biden supports an independent investigation. “There should be an independent review of these allegations, they’re serious,” Psaki told CNN’s Dana Bash. “That’s something we all support and the President supports.”

Update 4:45pm: New York Attorney General Letitia James rejected Cuomo’s proposal that she and the chief justice of the state court of appeals select an investigator. In a statement, James insisted that under state law, her office alone should oversee the investigation.

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate