Lindsey Boylan, former special advisor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, has provided new details on the governor's alleged sexual predations against her, and is claiming that other top women from his inner circle "normalised" this behaviour.
In an essay on Medium.com published on Wednesday, Boylan recalled an alleged 2018 incident of unwanted touching and kissing on the lips, and a broader pattern of inappropriate sexual advances by the governor.
"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 behaviour 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," the former aide wrote.
Boylan, who worked for the Cuomo administration from March 2015 to October 2018, and who was appointed as his special advisor in March 2018, first tweeted about her alleged experiences in December 2020 after conversations with another alleged victim.
The governor denied claims of wrongdoing at the time, calling the accusations "not true" and adding that Boylan "has the right to come forward and express her opinion."
In the essay published Wednesday, Boylan accused the governor's people of trying to "smear" her through the release of personnel records appearing to show that members of the governor's office sought to remove her over a series of alleged incidents, including the bullying of three African-American women and attempts to order around colleagues who did not report to her. Boylan said she'd never seen the personnel file, and claimed that "the governor's loyalists called around town, asking about me."
"I expect the Governor and his top aides will attempt to further disparage me, just as they've done with Assemblymember [Ron] Kim. They'd lose their jobs if they didn't protect him. That's how his administration works. I know because I was a part of it," she wrote.
Kim came forward last week, accusing Cuomo of calling him to demand he issue a press statement denying any effort by the Governor's Office to cover up nursing home fatalities in excess of what was publicly reported.
"For 10 minutes he berated me, he yelled at me, he told me that my career would be over, he's biting his tongue for months against me, and I had tonight – not tomorrow – tonight to issue a new statement, essentially asking me to lie," Kim said.
Along with her story, which also included allegations that Cuomo's staff had kept tabs on her whereabouts, Boylan provided other alleged evidence, including screenshots of emails showing possible inappropriate behaviour.
The former staffer also accused other members of his senior team, consisting mostly of women, of "growing hostile" against her after she began speaking up for herself. "I was reprimanded and told to get in line by his top aides, but I could not longer ignore it," she wrote, recalling her 2018 decision to resign.
The Governor's Office has yet to respond to the new allegations.
Cuomo has attempted to shift blame to the Trump administration as federal lawmakers called for a formal probe. Last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio joined in calling for a "full accounting" on the "troubling" revelations.
Also last week, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki dodged a question about whether President Joe Biden stands by his earlier characterisation of Cuomo's handling of the coronavirus as a "gold standard" for the nation.
