OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
New York Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo has now been accused of sexual harassment by three women and is reportedly under investigation.
As Cuomo is facing serious calls for his resignation, a tweet from 2015 from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is coming back around to haunt her.
In an image shared to Pelosi’s official Twitter account back in 2015, she is sharing a stage with Cuomo at an event about sexual assault.
“Too many women are sexually assaulted while in college,” a 2015 tweet from Pelosi stated. “Joined @NYGovCuomo to discuss why #EnoughIsEnough!”
Too many women are sexually assaulted while in college. Joined @NYGovCuomo to discuss why #EnoughIsEnough! pic.twitter.com/nDSkT3fTYj
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) May 11, 2015
Now that the very same Cuomo whom Pelosi was so proud to be sitting next to six years ago is the subject of first one, then two and now three accusations of sexually harassing much younger women, it raises the question of just when “Enough is Enough” when it comes to prominent Democratic politicians.
A third woman came forward on Monday to accuse Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate sexual behavior, saying he grabbed and kissed her at a 2019 wedding.
Anna Ruch told The New York Times that Gov. Cuomo made unwanted advances toward her and planted an unsolicited kiss on her cheek at the reception.
“He said, ‘Can I kiss you?’” Ruch recalled. “I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed.”
Lindsey Boylan, a former staffer for the New York governor, first detailed her accusations of sexual harassment in a tweet thread in December, but on Wednesday she went into much further detail in a piece on Medium.
She started her piece by recalling an event she said happened during a private plane with Gov. Cuomo in October 2017 where, she alleged, Cuomo made an indecent proposal.
“Let’s play strip poker,” the governor asked, Boyland claims.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she said that she responded “sarcastically and awkwardly. I tried to play it cool. But in that moment, I realized just how acquiescent I had become.”
She said that a state trooper and press aide were close enough to hear it but that everyone in his administration was frightened of punishment from the governor if they said anything.
“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,” she said.
Boyland said she decided to say something in December because “The night before, a former Cuomo staffer confided to me that she, too, had been the subject of the Governor’s workplace harassment. Her story mirrored my own. Seeing his name floated as a potential candidate for U.S. Attorney General — the highest law enforcement official in the land — set me off.”
Earlier this week, an older video surfaced showing Gov. Cuomo making highly inappropriate comments toward a female reporter about eating a hotdog.
