Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley responded to a sexual harassment allegation against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo by reminding the Democrat of his behavior during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing.
“The Kavanaugh controversy could raise difficult questions for Cuomo who not only insisted that Dr. Ford must be believed but demanded that Kavanaugh take a polygraph examination,” Turley, the Shapiro chair of public interest law at George Washington University, tweeted Wednesday. “It is not clear if Cuomo will now follow his own standard.”
…Cuomo was one of the most vocal figures to demand that women must be believed. Boylan was working for Cuomo during the year of the Kavanaugh hearings. I have never agreed with such calls for polygraphs in public controversies, but Cuomo apparently does.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) December 16, 2020
In an accompanying column, Turley, a liberal, explained how several prominent Democrats insisted that every sexual indecency accusation from a woman against a man should be automatically believed and how Cuomo called on Kavanaugh to take a polygraph test to discredit the uncorroborated sexual assault claims made against him in 2018.
“It is shocking that Judge Kavanaugh won’t take a polygraph and that the Senate won’t subpoena his friends or listen to other accusers,” Cuomo said at the time. “There should be no rush for a vote, given these serious allegations.”
Cuomo added that Republicans were sending the message that they don’t “value” women by declining to push Kavanaugh to take the polygraph test.
The governor was accused days ago of sexually harassing a former aide over the course of several years.
“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years,” Lindsey Boylan revealed in a tweet Sunday. “Many saw it, and watched.”
Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.
I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.
— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) December 13, 2020
Cuomo has denied the claim, saying he still believes in every woman’s right to come forward but that this accusation is “just not true.”
New York Gov. @AndrewCuomo denies sexually harassing Lindsey Boylan, his former aide.
“I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion— express issues and concerns that she has, but it’s just not true.”https://t.co/SC0rP5NOGQ pic.twitter.com/xYqdlMtmS4
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) December 14, 2020
