On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris ignored a question about the widening sexual harassment allegation against Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
After House lawmakers passed the Senate version of Biden’s $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus, Vice President Kamala Harris briefly spoke with reporters. However, the Vice President ignored questions surrounding the widening sexual harassment scandal against his fellow party member, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.
They're feminists, but they keep silent when accusations of sexual harassment harm their fellow Party members.
Harris, a “symbol of feminism,” has decided to remain silent in the face of the sexual harassment scandal involving @NYGovCuomo Via @ElAmerican_ https://t.co/dLOZhnuvnj
— Vanessa Vallejo (@vanessavallej0) March 3, 2021
The reporter asked Harris, “Madame Vice President, do you have any comment on Gov. Cuomo?” However, instead of responding to the question, Harris opted to walk out of the briefing room.
In recent days, Cuomo has been facing calls to resign after several women stepped forward and accused him of sexual harassment and other inappropriate conduct.
The latest sexual harassment allegation thrown at him was published by Albany Times-Union earlier on Wednesday. According to the report, a female former aide alleged that the governor groped her during an encounter at Cuomo’s mansion last year.
Due to this widening sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, critics had called on Harris to condemn her fellow party member given her hardline stance toward Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and former Democratic Senator Al Franken when they faced allegations of sexual misconduct.
Vice President Kamala Harris will not condemn Andrew Cuomo amid his sexual harassment scandal until an investigation into the claims are complete — despite urging former Sen. Al Franken to resign amid similar accusations — the White House said Friday. pic.twitter.com/OrcSSJWHBn
— ivan (@ivan8848) March 5, 2021
During a press briefing last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tried to address Harris’ stance on the matter, saying, “I think the vice president’s view is she believes a woman should be treated with respect. Their voices should be heard.”
Meanwhile, New York State Attorney General Letitia James launched an investigation into the sexual harassment claims against Cuomo.
However, despite these scandals that are swarming the governor, Cuomo has said that he will not resign and has denied any wrongdoing.
The allegations made by the female aide, who is now the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, were first reported by the Times Union on Tuesday.
“They were alone in Cuomo's private residence . . . when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her. [She] told the governor to stop.”
Female aide said Cuomo aggressively groped her at the governor's mansion https://t.co/B4bjsLeQVI
— Arthur Schwartz (@ArthurSchwartz) March 10, 2021
According to the female aide, Gov. Andrew Cuomo aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after being called to go to the Executive Mansion late last year.
The staff member alleged that she was called to the mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor about a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. She stated that at that time, they were alone in Cuomo’s private residence on the second floor when the governor closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and started to fondle her. The Times Union is withholding the identity of the staff.
The person briefed on the case, who was not allowed to comment publicly, stated that the staff member is much younger than Cuomo. Her broader allegations also include that the governor frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her and that it was not the only time that he had touched her.
Cuomo: “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General’s report.” https://t.co/r3zeGSBZ1m
— Chris Horvatits (@ChrisHorvatits4) March 11, 2021
This new allegation is the most extreme behavior thrown against the governor to date. Said conduct could also potentially be pursued as a misdemeanor sexual assault charge.
In response to the report made by the Times-Union, Cuomo said, “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General’s report.”
