White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday for remaining publicly silent on the Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment scandal.
Psaki reminded reporters during the White House press briefing that she spoke on behalf of Harris and Biden.
“The benefit of doing a briefing every day is that I can certainly speak on behalf of the president and the vice president,” she said.
Psaki said that both Harris and Biden believed in the right for any woman to come forward.
“The president believes as I’ve noted that every woman who comes forward deserves to be heard and treated with respect,” she said.
She also claimed that both Harris and Biden supported the investigation into Cuomo’s behavior.
“There is an investigation, an independent investigation that’s being overseen by the Attorney General which has subpoena power and we certainly support that moving forward,” she said.
Cuomo’s third accuser, Anna Ruch, worked for Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign as a voter activation director in southwest Florida and also worked as a photo editor in the Obama White House.
Psaki confirmed that Ruch worked on the campaign but expressed doubt that Biden knew her personally.
“I’m not aware of a personal relationship that they had, or that he knew her personally,” she said, reminding reporters that she also did not work for the campaign before joining the administration.
“I’m sure she has a number of people she still remains in touch with from the campaign,” she said.
Psaki also declined to say whether Biden had reached out to Ruch after her accusations against Cuomo.
When asked whether Biden believed that Cuomo should continue to lead the National Governors Association, Psaki demurred.
“That’s a decision for the NGA, not a decision for the president, or the White House,” she said.