Cuomo accuser Lindsey Boylan says only way to hold governor accountable is to 'impeach him'
NEW YORK (WABC) -- One of Andrew Cuomo's accusers attended a rally in support of the state legislature taking steps to impeach the New York state governor.
Cuomo's first accuser Lindsey Boylan spoke at the rally in Washington Square Park Saturday afternoon.
Boylan said the only way to hold the governor accountable is to "impeach him."
"The Assembly must act swiftly," she said. "We have courageous leaders like majority leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, who we can count on to do the right thing. Speaker Hasty on the other hand, wields his power to protect the governor and uphold a system that dismisses and abuses us. New Yorkers deserve a transparent and honest impeachment process, not a sham investigation led by people with ties to Governor Cuomo."
Boylan reinforced her truth to the accusations made against Cuomo.
"In December, I spoke truth to power on the harassment and bullying, I faced working for Governor Cuomo, and when the governor should have been focused on leading us out of this pandemic, he was instead focused on covering up the deaths of 15,000 New Yorkers and smearing me and my reputation," she said. "Since sharing my story, six more women have come forward with their experience of being bullied, harassed and assaulted by the governor of New York."
The Manhattan Borough President candidate added that, "When the governor lies about his abuse of power, as he's doing right now and daily, it's a betrayal of the public's trust abuse does not confine itself to one person or one area."
"Someone who abuses their power doesn't just do it to one woman, or one community, they do it on some level, to every person and every community," Boylan said.
The news comes after an eighth accuser lodged sexual harassment allegations against him.
Alyssa McGrath, 33, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo's office, told The New York Times that he looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.
McGrath didn't say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment.
She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party.
Cuomo lawyer Rita Glavin responded by reiterating his denials of inappropriate advances and touching.
She told the Times he has greeted both men and women with hugs and kisses on the cheek, has put his arm around people for photos and uses such Italian phrases as "ciao bella" ("hi, beautiful" or "'bye, beautiful"), though she said he didn't say that to McGrath.
"None of this is remarkable, although it may be old-fashioned," Glavin added.
Alyssa McGrath's attorney, Mariann Wang, released a statement:
The governor's deflections are not credible. This was not just friendly banter. Ms. McGrath understands the common phrase "ciao Bella." As she herself says: "I would not call my parents to find out what that phrase means. I know what that phrase means."
Meanwhile, Boylan, detailed her claims of sexual harassment in a new interview with celebrity #MeToo journalist Ronan Farrow.
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In the interview, published in The New Yorker, the governor's former adviser provides new anecdotes of the embattled governor's alleged harassment, bullying, and intimidation tactics.
Boylan, 36, first came forward with allegations in December and fleshed them out in a late February blog post amid scrutiny of Cuomo for the pandemic's death toll among residents in state nursing homes. At least seven women total have come forward with claims since.
In her interview with Farrow, Boylan recounted a 2018 incident in which a dog jumped on her in the governor's mansion and Cuomo "joked that if he were a dog, he would try to 'mount' her as well."
"I remember being grossed out but also...what a dumb third-grade thing to say," Boylan said in the interview.
Eight women have accused the governor of some form of sexual harassment or inappropriate touching.
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