Lindsey Boylan, who was the first woman to publicly accuse NY Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual assault, has announced plans to sue him and his staff for their effort to discredit her, it has emerged.
The former Cuomo adviser came forward publicly in December last year on Twitter to claim that the governor had sexually harassed her, made comments on her looks and at one point asked if she would play a game of strip poker with him.
But Cuomo's office allegedly sought to discredit Boylan's claims and smear her name, according to Attorney General Letitia James' Tuesday report which found the governor had sexually harassed 11 women.
Now, Boylan's lawyer Jill Basinger has told The New York Times that she is planning to taking the governor and his close advisers to court and sue them for those retaliatory actions.
'Because Lindsey was first, the governor needed to send a message,' said Basinger. 'He needed to send a message to every other survivor out there that this is what happens when you go against the machine of the governor's office.'
The development comes as it was revealed Cuomo could face an impeachment trial led by his own party's majority government 'as soon as late September or early October,' according to recent reports - a move which only happened once in New York history.
Top lawmakers including Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Chuck Schumer have called for the governor's resignation after James revealed the findings of a bombshell sexual harassment report that detailed 11 women's claims against him and accusations he bred a 'hostile' workplace.
Some of those allegations were not previously known, like a state trooper and an executive assistant who says he groped her breast at the governor's mansion in Albany in November 2020.
The report claims that some of Cuomo's closest advisors reportedly sought the help of women's advocacy group Time's Up Legal Defense Fund founder Roberta Kaplan and Time's Up CEO Tina Tchen to draft a letter seeking to discredit Boylan and deny her allegations.
Lindsey Boylan, who was the first woman to publicly accuse NY Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual assault has announced plans to sue him and his staff for their effort to discredit her, claims a new report
But Cuomo's office allegedly sought to discredit Boylan's claims and smear her name, which was revealed in Attorney General Letitia James' report, released on Tuesday, which found the governor had sexually harassed 11 women
The alleged involvement of Tchen and Kaplan in Cuomo's denial letter, was revealed in James' report.
In her 165-page report, James stated that a group of advisors for Cuomo last December, sought to pen a letter that, 'denied the legitimacy of Ms. Boylan's allegations, impugned her credibility, and attacked her claims as politically motivated.'
The team devised the letter outlining complaints against Boylan from her personnel file and specific interactions between her, Cuomo and other male colleagues. Investigators say the letter also accused of Boylan of working with some of Cuomo's political adversaries.
The report alleged Top Cuomo Aide Melissa DeRosa, former Chief of Staff Jill Des Rosiers and outgoing counsel Judith Mogul dismissed Boylan's claims and tried to cover them up in order to protect the governor.
DeRosa testified that Cuomo initially drafted the letter by hand, although the governor testified that he did not 'remember handwriting any document,' but that he 'participated in drafts.'
The letter was intended to be sent to former colleagues of Boylan and Cuomo for them to sign, and then published, possibly as an op-ed.
Staff for Gov. Andrew Cuomo recruited the help of Time's Up co-founders Roberta Kaplan (left) and Tina Tchen during an effort to discredit allegations of sexual harassment by former Cuomo aide Lyndsey Boylan
DeRosa testified that she had misgivings about the letter, and worried that it would 'backfire,' so Cuomo asked her to reach out to Kaplan for input.
'According to Ms. DeRosa, Ms. Kaplan read the letter to the head of the advocacy group Times Up [Tchen], and both of them allegedly suggested that, without the statements about Ms. Boylan's interactions with male colleagues, the letter was fine,' James said in her report.
Time's Up is a charity that raises money to support victims of sexual harassment, and was formed at the beginning of 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement.
In further damning accusations, Dani Lever, one of Facebook's to communications managers allegedly helped Cuomo's staff distribute Boylan's personnel files in an effort to discredit her allegations against the governor.
Lever is said to have done so even though she had already started working at Facebook, according to the report.
She worked on Cuomo's staff for six years before joining the social media platform's communications team in August 2020.
The smear campaign against Boylan was launched in December of that year, just hours after she accused Cuomo of harassment. According to the report, Lever also regularly participated in discussions about Cuomo's communications strategy following the allegations.
In a string of tweets on December 13, 2020, Boylan became the first woman to publicly announce allegations against Cuomo.
'Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched,' she wrote.
In addition to inappropriate remarks, Boylan claims Cuomo physically touched her on various parts of her body, including her waist, legs, and back.
Another 10 women claim Cuomo sexually harassed them either by touching them, kissing them, hugging them or subjecting them to inappropriate questioning or comments.
In one instance, an executive assistant says he groped her breast at the governor's mansion in Albany in November 2020.
Cuomo denies all of the groping allegations and says he may have been too handsy with hugs and kisses, but that's how he was raised. He says the inappropriate comments were intended as banter and the women misinterpreted them.
Letitia James said all of the allegations are corroborated but she has not recommended any criminal charges against him, saying the scope of her work didn't include prosecution.
But the governor is now facing three criminal investigations in Manhattan, Westchester and Albany - in addition to an impeachment trial at the State Legislature. A judiciary committee has been tasked with investigating whether impeachment is warranted and that probe is underway.
The smear campaign against Boylan was launched in December of that year, just hours after she accused Cuomo of harassment. According to the report, Lever also regularly participated in discussions about Cuomo's communications strategy following the allegations
A few hours after Boylan tweeted her sexual harassment accusations, Boylan's confidential personnel file, accompanied with a statement from Press Secretary Caitlin Girouard stating saying there was 'simply no truth' to her allegations, was distributed to reporters at numerous media outlets, the AG's report states.
Although she was no longer employed with the governor's office, the report alleges that 'Lever coordinated with some of the reporters who received the documents to let them know that the Executive Chamber would be sending them'.
Members of the Executive Chamber testified that they only disclosed Boylan's files 'in order to correct demonstrably false information' surrounding the circumstances of her departure from the Chamber.
However, another Cuomo accuser, identified in the report as Executive Assistant #1, claims to have witnessed the Chamber's attempts to retaliate against Boylan.
'I would be in the room when they were actively trying to discredit her. They were actively trying to portray a different story of it. Trying to make her seem like she was crazy and wanting to get her personnel file out,' the former said.
'That was the first time that I had seen someone publicly come out and saying something against him and sexually harassing them and them going behind the scenes and trying to discredit her.'
In relation to Cuomo's denial letter, his staff continued to have misgivings, except for Cuomo ally Steve Cohen, who had said with some edits 'it would be acceptable.'
'Ms. DeRosa reported back to the Governor that Ms. Kaplan and the head of Times Up thought the letter was okay with some changes, as did Mr. Cohen,' the report read, 'but everyone else thought it was a bad idea.'
DeRosa reportedly sent the letter to several individuals asking for their signature, including Lever who declined to sign it because she believed it 'amounted to 'victim shaming''.
DeRosa is currently being represented by Kaplan's firm Hecker & Fink LLP in the attorney general's investigation the report notes.
Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa had sought out Kaplan's help in drafting the letter, who in turn consulted with Tchen. Kaplan is now representing DeRosa in the attorney general investigation. Ultimately the letter was never published
Ultimately, the letter was never published, after Cuomo's staff was unable to find enough people willing to sign it, according to James.
'Several people whom the Governor's advisors asked to sign the letter were uncomfortable with what it said about Ms. Boylan,' she said in her report, adding that one said the letter 'amounted to 'victim shaming,'' and another remarked 'This entire thing is castigating her.'
In throwing out the letter, Cuomo in his testimony compared himself to Abraham Lincoln.
'He drew a comparison with Abraham Lincoln's apparent practice of handwriting a long response to an article that infuriated him and then crumpling up the response and throwing it out,' the report read. 'The Governor testified that, like Lincoln, the writing process was cathartic for him.'
Basinger, the attorney for Boylan said Wednesday that she and her client were 'shocked' that Cuomo's staff would seek the help of women's advocates in their efforts to undermine her accusations.
'We were shocked, just shocked that the people that were asked to protect survivors, the very organizations put in place to help people, were being weaponized against Lindsey,' Basinger said in an interview with the Washington Post. 'She didn't know there were this many people rooting against her.'
Kaplan responded, saying that her input was that the letter should not in any way shame Boylan.
'While it turns out the response was never published, I made it very clear that any response should never shame an accuser,' she told the Post. 'Given the revelations in the New York Attorney General report, I support and agree with Time's Up that Governor Cuomo should resign.'
Tchen said she did not remember the particulars of the letter in regards to what she discussed with Kaplan, but denied that she would take part in an effort to discredit an accuser.
'You cannot make any attempt to attack or discredit a person who has come forward with allegations,' she told the outlet. 'Had those parts existed in what was read to me, I would have said, 'Do not say that.''
In a statement sent to the Hollywood Reporter Tchen further doubled down on her stance.
'Before any allegations were made against Governor Cuomo, in 2019, Time's Up worked with his administration to pass the Time's Up/NY Safety Agenda. In December 2020, Tina was asked to give her perspective on a public response to Ms. Boylan's allegations,' she told the outlet.
'Although Tina made no recommendations as to what he should do, she shared the stance Time's Up has always taken in these matters. She was clear that any response coming from the Governor's office addressing the allegations would be insufficient and unacceptable if it did not acknowledge the experiences of the women who came forward, and that it should in no way shame or discredit the women.'
It comes as Cuomo could face an impeachment trial led by his own party's majority government 'as soon as late September or early October,' according to recent reports - a move which only happened once in New York history.
Top lawmakers including Joe Biden have called for the governor's resignation after James revealed the findings of a bombshell sexual harassment report.
The governors of neighboring Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut, plus Rhode Island, all joined in the chorus of condemnation. All four are fellow Democrats.
In his public address, Cuomo he said he is a 'warm' person who sometimes 'slips' and calls women who work for him 'sweetheart and darling', but insisting he has never been predatory or physical in his interactions with staffers.
His attorney has also released an 85-page rebuttal to the report which she says she will continue to update.
'Even on a quick first review, it is clear that the report purposefully omits key evidence,' said Cuomo's attorney Rita M. Glavin.
In his televised address, Cuomo used a slideshow of images of him hugging and kissing people throughout his life to demonstrate what he described as an affectionate and tactile personality, that he says the women have confused for a sexual predator.
'This has been a long and painful period for me and my family as others feed stories to the press,' he said.
'I never touched anyone inappropriately. The facts are much different to what has been portrayed.
'I am 63 years old. I have lived my entire adult life in public service. That is just not who I am or who I ever have been.'
But after Cuomo denied the allegations in a public message, the New York State Assembly's top Democrat announced he lost the party's support.
'It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,' Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie wrote in a statement after lawmakers held an emergency meeting.
'Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.'
A poll surveying 500 New Yorkers on Tuesday found that 63 percent believe Cuomo should be booted for the alleged sexual harassment.
In a scathing op-ed titled 'You Should Resign, Governor Cuomo' the New York Times editorial board joined calls for his departure.
'If Mr. Cuomo cares for the well-being of the state and its citizens as much as he has said he does over the years, he needs to do the right thing and step down,' the body writes.
Nancy Pelosi echoed the sentiment when she called on Cuomo to resign 'recognizing his love of New York and the respect for the office he holds' on Tuesday.
Joining Pelosi and Biden are 13 New York federal lawmakers.
A letter signed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, Jerry Nadler, Kirsten Gillibrand and others called on him to step down in the wake of James's reports.
