Kirsten Gillibrand Suddenly Gets Shy about Andrew Cuomo

N ew York senator Kirsten Gillibrand doesn’t want you to ask her about Andrew Cuomo resigning:

Asking every female elected in our state when a person should resign or not resign really isn’t the conversation we should be having. And I have to say, it’s exceedingly frustrating because so many men who are also in public leadership aren’t asked these questions day to day. The women in our state are not meant to be judges, jurors and executioners. I really resent the fact that … the news media calls on every woman elected to [judge] every single time. Unfortunately, what it does is then turn the spotlight on the women of the state when they should be squarely on the individuals who are being accused of sexual harassment.

Gillibrand has not been entirely silent on the mounting (six named, on-the-record accusers, at last count) allegations of sexual harassment against New York’s governor, but her pronouncements thus far have been decidedly generic:

In a series of statements, Gillibrand has said accusations of offensive behavior by Cuomo are “serious and deeply concerning” and that the three women “who have come forward have shown tremendous courage.” She has said that the claims against Cuomo are “completely unacceptable” and called for a full investigation — but stopped short of demanding his resignation.

Rather than take a stance on whether the allegations should be believed or what consequences should follow, Gillibrand seems eager to defer the issue to the state attorney general. This is not the first time she has taken this path. In 2019, she was likewise unwilling to commit beyond calling for an investigation into sexual-assault charges against another Democrat, Virginia lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax. In 2020, she publicly stood by Joe Biden on the basis of his denial of Tara Reade’s sexual-assault allegations. Gillibrand was also a long-time Clinton booster until it became safe, in 2017, to distance herself from Bill’s notorious gropiness.

Gillibrand should not be able to hide behind the “every woman” dodge this time. It’s not just that she and Cuomo are two of the three highest-ranking elected Democrats in the state. Gillibrand also has posed as a key champion on the issue, has been vocal in the past about sexual-misconduct claims when it was in her political interest, and has even framed herself as a judge of such things within her own party. Her Senate bio prominently touts her work on sexual-assault claims on campus and in the military. She has not been shy about arguing, when it serves her, that her status as a woman gives her superior judgment on some issues.

As Kyle Smith recalls, Gillibrand has made herself the friend of even false accusers:

Even after the notorious Rolling Stone story about a supposed gang rape at the University of Virginia was exposed as the product of the febrile imagination of a single lovestruck accuser named Jackie, Gillibrand said, “Victim-blaming or shining the spotlight on her for coming forward is not the right approach.” Victim-blaming! The undergrad, identified much later as Jackie Coakley, falsely portrayed members of a fraternity as rapists and the fraternity itself as the eager incubator of a culture of rape. She participated in a vicious attack. It was the fraternity brothers who were the victims.

Another effort to borrow some sexual-assault-victim glamour, Gillibrand’s notorious decision to bring then–Columbia student Emma “Mattress Girl” Sulkowicz to President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union address, was even more unconscionable. The young woman’s claim of rape by a fellow undergraduate, which was dismissed by a campus investigation, looked suspiciously like revenge for being romantically rejected by him after consensual sex. The young man later reached a settlement with the university after he sued it over the debacle in which his accuser, thanks to the efforts of Gillibrand and others, became a national celebrity while his name was repeatedly linked to unproven and almost certainly false claims.

In 2017, she called for Donald Trump to resign the presidency due to allegations of sexual assault that she had no trouble judging:

President Trump has committed assault, according to these women, and those are very credible allegations of misconduct and criminal activity, and he should be fully investigated and he should resign. These allegations are credible; they are numerous. I’ve heard these women’s testimony, and many of them are heartbreaking.

Burnishing her credibility on the issue that same year, she became the first Senate Democrat to call for Al Franken’s resignation from the Senate. In 2018, Gillibrand was way out in front on the Brett Kavanaugh allegations — which were much flimsier than those against Cuomo — saying “I believe Dr. Blasey Ford because she’s telling the truth” and insisting that the vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation was a referendum on “whether we’re a country that listens to and believes women.”

But this is not just about Gillibrand’s hypocrisy on politicians in general. In her first and only significant government job before running for Congress, she served in the late 1990s as special counsel to the secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — none other than Andrew Cuomo. As Cuomo said in a statement when Gillibrand was appointed to the Senate in 2009:

I have had the pleasure of knowing her for many years.  Kirsten came to Washington to join me at HUD where she did a superb job serving the nation.  I have deep respect and affection for her.  Her victory in the 2006 Congressional race defied the pundits and the polls.  Kirsten is a genuine friend.  I am sorry I could not be with her today …

Gillibrand at HUD was in her early 30s, pretty, unmarried, and working closely with Cuomo. One might even venture to say — judging from Cuomo’s ex-wife, longtime girlfriend, and accusers — that Gillibrand looks like his type. Does she believe that inappropriate conduct with women in the workplace is characteristic of Andrew Cuomo? Does she believe that it would be totally out of character? Maybe “every woman” in elected office in New York would not be in a position to answer those questions. But Kirsten Gillibrand has no good excuse for ducking them.