House President Nancy Pelosi broke her silence on Sunday nearly 24 hours after a second woman brought allegations of sexual harassment against New York government Andrew Cuomo, calling both women’s charges ‘credible’.
“The women who bring serious and credible charges against Governor Cuomo deserve to be heard and treated with dignity,” Pelosi said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News. “The independent investigation must have the necessary process and respect for all involved.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, met with reporters before the House voted to pass a $ 1.9 billion pandemic relief package during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington on Friday, February 26, 2021.
(AP)
The statement comes after a second former Cuomo assistant allegedly came forward with sexual harassment a few days after his first prosecutor made her claims public.
Pelosi, who was very outspoken in her opposition to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court over allegations of sexual assault, did not speak publicly about Cuomo until Fox News reached it.
Charlotte Bennett, a health policy adviser in the Democratic governor’s government until November, told The New York Times Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she had ever had sex with older men.
Another former assistant, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comment. Cuomo denied the allegations.
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Cuomo said in a statement on Saturday that Bennett was a “hardworking and valued member of our team during COVID” and that “she has every right to speak.”
He said he intended to be a mentor to Bennett, who is 25.
“I have never made progress with Ms. Bennett and also did not intend to act in any way that was inappropriate,” Cuomo’s statement read. “The last thing I would have ever wanted was to make her feel something being reported.”
Cuomo, however, said he approves an external review of Bennett’s allegations.
The few harassment charges represent a deepening crisis for Cuomo, who just a few months ago peaked in popularity for his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic.
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In recent weeks, he has been attacked over revelations that his government has underreported COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. A state legislature member has shown the public complaints that Cuomo threatened to destroy him politically because of statements he made in the press, asking other politicians to tell stories about being bullied by the governor.
Associated Press contributed to this report.