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Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to a United Nations commission about the need to empower women around the globe — saying democracy “depends fundamentally on the empowerment of women” — while she still hasn’t mentioned a word about the mounting accusations of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“The status of democracy also depends fundamentally on the empowerment of women, not only because the exclusion of women in decision making is a marker of a flawed democracy, but because the participation of women strengthens democracy,” she said in taped remarks to the UN Commission on the Status of Women on Tuesday.
“I am proud to report that while the United States still has work to do, we too are making progress and that women strengthen our democracy every day,” Harris continued.
The veep noted that Eleanor Roosevelt “shaped the Universal Declaration on Human Rights” and quoted her: “‘Without equality, there can be no democracy.’”
“In other words, the status of women is the status of democracy. For our part, the United States will work to improve both,” Harris said in her remarks.
But Harris, who grilled then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh about sexual assault allegations against him at his confirmation hearing, has still not addressed Cuomo’s accusers.
At Kavanaugh’s hearing, Harris, then a senator from California, rushed to proclaim she believed Christine Blasey Ford’s accusations of harassment from an unspecified year, decades ago.
In an interview Wednesday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” President Biden praised the seven women for coming forward with their allegations against Cuomo.
“A woman should be presumed telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward,” Biden said. “But there should be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true.”
He was asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether the governor should resign if state Attorney General Letitia James’ probe upholds the claims.
“Yes, I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted too,” Biden said.
But Harris has yet to comment on the scandal.
Lindsey Boylan, a former aide who accused Cuomo of kissing her on the lips without permission and suggesting they “play strip poker,” lashed out at Biden and Harris in a tweet last Friday.
“The governor has denied all wrongdoing,” Boylan wrote on Twitter. “He got on his platform today and said ’there are many motivations of why people do things.’ He is calling up hate and speculation to be directed to his accusers. All harm and hate directed at the women sits squarely on @NYGovCuomo.”
“It also calls into question the judgment and courage of both @POTUS and @KamalaHarris,” she said in a second, now-deleted post.
A growing number of Democrats — including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Bill de Blasio — have called for the governor to step down.
And state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) has launched an impeachment investigation into Cuomo.
Cuomo has denied touching anyone inappropriately and said he would cooperate with the ongoing investigation by James.
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