Cuomo Kissed Me and Suggested Strip Poker, Says Former Aide

Lindsey Boylan, former deputy secretary for economic development a part of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office, shared claims for sexual harassment. Initial claims were posted in December last year but on Wednesday this week, Boylan disclosed additional details.

Former Aide Shares Sexual Harassment Claims against Governor Cuomo

A former deputy secretary for economic development and advisor of Governor Andrew Cuomo disclosed new details concerning sexual harassment accusations against him on Wednesday this week. The former member of the Governor’s administration, Lindsey Boylan, shared those details in a post on Medium. Initially, she disclosed the sexual harassment allegations over Twitter back in December, but without specific details.

Boylan’s blog was titled “My story of working with Governor Cuomo” and described what made her share her experience. She claimed that in December, she was contacted by a former aide of Cuomo, who “had been the subject of the Governor’s workplace harassment“. Boylan then decided to share a small part of the truth which she kept hidden for a long time. Although she acknowledged that initially, she never planned to disclose those details.

“Andrew Cuomo abused his power as Governor to sexually harass me, just as he had done with so many other women.”

Lindsey Boylan, former deputy secretary for economic development

What pushed Boylan to share those details? According to her, she saw the Governor’s name floating for a potential candidate for U.S. Attorney General. This is in fact the highest U.S. law enforcement official. Boylan said that this set her off and she decided to share what her friends, family, and therapist already knew.

A Kiss on the Lips without Consent

Boylan described in detail a couple of cases of alleged inappropriate behavior from the Governor. One case relates to a kiss on the lips without consent. The claim dates back to 2018 when Boylan had a one-on-one briefing with the governor. The briefing took place at his New York Office, located on Third Avenue.

Once the meeting was over, Boylan got up to leave toward an open door. Then, she claims that Cuomo stepped in front of her and kissed her on the lips. Although Boylan was in shock, she said that she kept on walking.

Furthermore, she acknowledged that on the following day, her relationship with the Governor’s senior team “grew hostile” after she started speaking for herself. Although Boylan was allegedly told by the Governor’s top aides to “get in line”, she said that she could no longer ignore this.

A Strip Poker Suggestion

Boylan, who is a candidate for Manhattan Borough president, shared details regarding another encounter with Cuomo. The claim dates back to October 2017, when she and the Governor were flying back following an event. On that occasion, Cuomo was sitting facing Boylan, and next to her was the Governor’s press aide. A state trooper was also attending the flight and was seated just behind them.

Then, at some point, Cuomo allegedly proposed playing strip poker. Hearing this, Boylan tried to respond sarcastically by saying that this was exactly what she was thinking. Furthermore, she added that despite the awkward moment, she tried to “play it cool“. Consequently, Boylan admitted that this is when she realized how acquiescent she had become.

Besides those encounters, Boylan also alleged that Cuomo’s senior staff kept tabs on her whereabouts. Furthermore, she claimed that “the Governor would go out of his way” to touch her lower back, legs, and arms.

Governor Cuomo Rejects Boylan’s Claims

Back in December, Cuomo spoke to reporters and rejected Boylan’s claims. He outlined that the concerns which she had were “just not true”. Furthermore, on Wednesday this week, a spokesperson for Cuomo rejected the claims once again. Caitlin Girouard deemed the claims for inappropriate behavior put forward by Boylan as “quite simply false“.

Cuomo’s office confirmed that there were four flights in 2017 to which both Boylan and the Governor attended. However, according to a statement by the Governor’s office, four different people disagreed that Cuomo made the strip poker proposal.

John Maggiore, Cuomo’s former senior advisor, said in a statement that such conversation did not happen. His statement was supported by Dani Lever, former press secretary for the Governor. Furthermore, Maggiore’s statement was supported by Howard Zemsky, former Empire State Development CEO, and Abbey Collins, former first deputy press secretary.