Jen Psaki said during a press briefing Wednesday that sexual harassment allegations against President Joe Biden had been “heavily litigated” during the campaign and reiterated the president’s call for Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign.
A reporter pointed out that Biden has been accused of sexual harassment, including accusations that he skinny-dipped in front of female secret service agents. Tara Reade, his former Senate aide, also accused him of sexually assaulting her, and several women reportedly objected to the way Biden touched them.
“Should there be an independent investigation of the allegations against the president as there was for Cuomo?” (RELATED: Can You Guess The Major News Topic Chris Cuomo Totally Ignored On CNN?)
Psaki said that Biden believes women should be heard and respected and that the allegations against him were “heavily litigated” when he was running for president.
“Well first I would say the president has been clear and outspoken about the importance of women being respected and having their voices heard and being allowed to tell their stories and people treating them with respect,” she said. “That has long been his policy and continues to be his policy.”
“That was heavily litigated during the campaign, I understand you’re eager to come back to it, but I don’t have anything further other than to repeat that he has called for the governor to resign,” Psaki added.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday that an investigation found that Cuomo had subjected multiple women to sexually charged comments and inappropriate touching, and had also been involved in a pressure campaign to keep them quiet.
James said that the governor had violated both federal and state law but would not face criminal charges. Several top Democrats, including the president, have called for Cuomo’s resignation in light of the report.