White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki dodged questions about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the report from the New York Attorney General stating that Cuomo sexually harassed eleven women before stumbling through a speech about believing all women.
Multiple White House reporters pushed the press secretary to communicate President Joe Biden’s thoughts on the recent report, but Psaki declined to answer any questions until Biden’s speech later in the day.
“Well the President just said that he’s going to speak to this later this afternoon and share his views, so I’m not going to get ahead of his comments,” Psaki said before denying that the White House had since-conversed with Cuomo’s office.
Jen Psaki dodges questions on Andrew Cuomo, but says Biden will be making a statement later today. pic.twitter.com/NgLLH2tNof
— Amy Tarkanian (@MrsT106) August 3, 2021
The first question to open Monday’s press briefing was focused on Biden’s comments from March indicating that Cuomo should resign if the New York attorney general’s investigation confirmed the allegations of sexual harassment.
“Yes, I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted too,” Biden, who dismissed sexual harassment allegations from his own accuser Tara Reade, said in March. “…Here’s my position. A woman should be presumed to telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward.”
REMINDER: In March, Joe Biden said Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign if sexual allegations were confirmed pic.twitter.com/JuIpgLTtde
— America Rising (@AmericaRising) August 3, 2021
Psaki also remained tight-lipped about whether Biden’s invitation for Cuomo to visit the White House during the next governor’s conference still stands and whether the Justice Department, which just dropped its investigation into Cuomo’s COVID nursing home malfeasance, will investigate the sexual harassment claims against Cuomo.
It wasn’t until one reporter asked Psaki what the White House’s message to the victims of Cuomo that she responded.
“The White House’s message, the president’s message, the vice president’s message, my message is all women’s who have lived through sexual, this type of experience, whether it is harassment or abuse or in the worst case, assault, deserve to have their voices heard, deserve to be treated with respect and with dignity,” Psaki said.
Psaki to ABC's @CeciliaVega: "All women who have who have lived through" this "deserve to have their voices heard deserve to be treated with respect and with dignity. I don't know that anyone could have watched this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent." pic.twitter.com/B80W1LQqfX
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 3, 2021
Psaki added that she didn’t “know that anyone could have watched this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent.”
“I know I certainly did,” Psaki said.
“I don’t know that anyone could’ve watched this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent. I know I did,” Psaki added.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) August 3, 2021
