Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) — herself accused of killing nursing home residents with her coronavirus policies — said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) should be subjected to a “thorough, independent investigation” over sexual harassment allegations.
Whitmer was asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper if the accusations by several former aides constituted “sexual harassment,” and she responded, “I think the allegations here are very serious and need to be taken seriously and I do think that an impartial, thorough, independent investigation is merited and appropriate.”
Tapper asked Whitmer if she thought Cuomo “sexually harassed (former aide) Charlotte Bennett.” The governor again dodged, “These are serious allegations and if accurate and true, and um, I think we have to take action,” not specifying what “action” would mean.
Tapper then asked Whitmer about her “emotional reaction” to the allegation, and she said she had a “gut-wrenching” response that she thought “a lot of women in America did.”
Last May, when former Joe Biden aide Tara Reade alleged the then-presidential candidate had sexually assaulted her in a Senate office building corridor in 1993, Whitmer had a different response.
She said to Tapper:
As a survivor, and as a feminist, I’ll say this. We need to give people an opportunity to tell their story. Then we have a duty to vet it. And just because you’re a survivor doesn’t mean that every claim is equal. It means we give them the ability to make their case and the other side as well. And then to make a judgment that is informed. I have read a lot about this current allegation. I know Joe Biden, and I’ve watched his defense.
There’s not a pattern that goes into this. And I think for these reasons, I’m very comfortable that Joe Biden is who he says he is.
Whitmer appeared to mimic talking points distributed by the Biden campaign in April.
“Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly reviewed,” they read.
The document continued in part: “…this alleged conduct would have been so wildly out of character for Joe Biden.”
“There has never been a complaint, allegation, hint or rumor of any impropriety or inappropriate conduct like this regarding him – ever,” the talking points said.
Breitbart News columnist John Nolte argued Cuomo is being barraged with sexual harassment allegations to distract from the policy Cuomo, Whitmer, and other Democrat governors enacted to place coronavirus-infected patients in nursing homes.
Kyle Olson is a reporter for Breitbart News. He is also host of “The Kyle Olson Show,” syndicated on Michigan radio stations on Saturdays–download full podcast episodes. Follow him on Parler.