Fallout from Cuomo sexual harassment report ripples across liberal networks

ALBANY, N.Y. — The fallout from New York Attorney General’s Tish James’ report on sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reverberating across national liberal groups whose members have ties to the three-term Democrat’s administration.

Roberta Kaplan, the chair of Time’s Up and co-founder of its legal defense fund, resigned on Monday from her position after the James report revealed she had consulted with members of Cuomo’s administration who were looking to build a campaign against one of the governor’s accusers.

And the Human Rights Campaign, which described itself as the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization, announced Monday it would investigate the involvement of its president, Alphonso David, in Cuomo’s scandals. David previously served as Cuomo‘s counsel.

Those moves follow the resignation of Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, Sunday evening.

Time’s Up President and CEO Tina Tchen and the organization’s board said in a statement that Kaplan’s decision to step down was “the right and appropriate thing to do.“ The series of events will force the organization to “hold ourselves accountable,“ they said.

“We need more transparency about our vision of change-making, and we need a more inclusive process to engage the broader survivor community, many of whom have spent years doing the noble work of fighting for women,“ Tchen and the board said.

The Human Rights Campaign and its foundation hired outside law firm Sidley Austin LLP to conduct an inquiory into whether the actions David‘s actions, as outlined in James’ Tuesday report, “aligned with HRC’s mission and values, as well as with professional and ethics standards.”

David was the Cuomo administration’s top lawyer prior to leaving for HRC in 2019, but, according to the report, was informally pulled back into the circle in December, as Cuomo’s top aides and allies looked into ways to counter former staffer Lindsey Boylan’s initial allegations of harassment on Twitter. While the governor’s counsel, David handled the complaints that formed the basis of the documents later leaked to undermine Boylan. David had also retained a copy of the files after leaving the Executive Chamber and later sent them to Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s communications director.

David did not agree to sign onto a statement in support of the governor, apologizing in a group message that he was advised against the idea by HRC staff. But he offered to help in other ways. Ultimately he also made calls to drum up support for the unsent letter attesting to the governor’s positive treatment of women in his office.

Last week he distanced himself from Cuomo and called for the governor’s resignation on Twitter. But HRC staff and board members were unsatisfied with that response and have been raising questions about the appropriateness of his actions, board chairs for HRC and the HRC Foundation, Morgan Cox and Jodie Patterson, said in a Monday statement.

David is cooperating with the investigation and will continue as president of HRC and the foundation as it proceeds, the chairs said. The investigation will take no longer than 30 days, and “will help shed light on the events that unfolded and guide the Boards on any necessary next steps.”