White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that the woman accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) of sexual harassment “should be heard.”
“The president has been consistent in his position, when a person comes forward, they deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” Psaki said. “Their voice should be heard, not silenced, and any allegation should be reviewed.”
Cuomo’s former aide Lindsey Boylan claimed the governor kissed her on the lips and repeatedly made suggestive comments when she crossed paths with him.
“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,” she wrote in an essay on social media.
Cuomo has denied the allegations.
“Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has,” he said during a press conference. “But it’s just not true.”
Psaki conceded that Biden had made a series of positive comments about Cuomo, calling him the “gold standard” of coronavirus leadership, but did not say whether the president still believed that after the governor was caught hiding the number of deaths in nursing homes.
“To be fair, let’s put all those comments in context,” she said, noting Biden praised Cuomo in April 2020 when he was “stepping in to fill a vacuum of leadership” during the early months of the crisis.
“Our focus is to continue working with governors across the country,” she said.