Politics

‘If I Weren’t As Sure As I Am That He Will Be Impeached, I Would Leave’: Cuomo Staffer Says The Governor Needs To Go

Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Mary Margaret Olohan Social Issues Reporter
Font Size:
  • A member of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive chamber described to the Daily Caller News Foundation a culture of anger and frustration in Cuomo’s office as employees attempt to serve the state of New York amid the chaos of the governor’s #METOO allegations. 
  • “If I weren’t as sure as I am that he will be impeached, I would leave,” the staffer told the DCNF.
  • “And if he doesn’t get impeached for some reason, I will leave,” she said. “Honestly, the press team here is comprised of amazing people, but working for a man like that is against everything I believe in and I believe the women who have come forward.”

Whether he resigns or is impeached, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo needs to go, a source working in the governor’s executive chamber told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“If I weren’t as sure as I am that he will be impeached, I would leave,” she said of the New York Democrat. “And if he doesn’t get impeached for some reason, I will leave. Honestly, the press team here is comprised of amazing people, but working for a man like that is against everything I believe in and I believe the women who have come forward.”

The source, who asked to remain anonymous since she currently still works for the governor, detailed a culture of anger and frustration in Cuomo’s office as employees attempt to serve the state of New York amid the chaos of the #METOO allegations. She repeatedly praised her colleagues, including senior adviser Richard Azzopardi, describing him as a dedicated servant of New York with significant loyalties to the executive chamber.

Though she herself has never heard or seen the governor behave inappropriately firsthand, the staffer said she has no reason to distrust the accusers and believes their allegations. (RELATED: TIME’S UP Founders Allegedly Helped Cuomo Discredit Accuser Lindsey Boylan, Investigation Finds)

“I want people to know that what goes on at the chamber isn’t just the governor,” the Cuomo staffer said. “There’s a whole team of people in this limbo right now that are good people that can’t do their jobs because of what’s going on. And it’s immensely frustrating as someone who loves this state as much as I do.”

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a press conference at One World Trade Center on June 15, 2021 in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

“We’re just sitting here watching this,” she continued. “It’s like having to be a minor part of it. And it just feels incredibly selfish,” she said. “At this point, the state can’t function with this spotlight on it. It needs to clear itself up, be it with a resignation or an impeachment.”

The staffer said she reached her “breaking point” when Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin spoke to media Friday afternoon about a report released by the New York attorney general’s office detailing the findings of an investigation into Cuomo’s conduct. (RELATED: Hours After #METOO Allegations Surfaced, Top Cuomo Adviser Released Oppo File On Accuser Lindsey Boylan To Media)

The investigation released Tuesday found that the governor had “sexually harassed a number of State employees through unwelcome and unwanted touching, as well as by making numerous offensive and sexually suggestive comments” and that this conduct “was part of a pattern of behavior that extended to his interactions with others outside of State government.”

Cuomo denied Tuesday that he ever inappropriately touched anyone, and said that those attacking him are discrediting “legitimate” victims of harassment.

Glavin criticized many aspects of the report and said that the investigation had a “predetermined narrative.” (RELATED: Tara Reade Accuses Psaki Of ‘Misleading The Public’ By Saying Her Allegations Were ‘Heavily Litigated During The Campaign’)

Most of Cuomo’s staff watched the media call on Friday afternoon, the Cuomo staffer said, saying she found it insulting, embarrassing, and “gut-wrenching” to listen to Glavin “slandering” the Cuomo accusers.

“We can’t do the job while you are battling this,” she said, directing her comments at the governor. “I’m not here to fight this battle for you. I don’t believe in it. I want to do my job. Move out of the way.”

“I’ve spoken to a couple of my colleagues today and I guess the general consensus is just anger,” she said. “We just feel angry, disrespected. I know there’s a lot of back and forth between wanting the impeachment probe to go further, to learn more and automatically believing. But even those who are on the fence are just mad.”

The report also described the culture of the executive chamber as “one filled with fear and intimidation” that normalized “the Governor’s frequent flirtations and gender-based comments” and “contributed to the conditions that allowed the sexual harassment to occur and persist.”

“That culture also influenced the improper and inadequate ways in which the Executive Chamber has responded to allegations of harassment,” the report said. (RELATED: Woman On Cuomo’s Security Team Is Still Protecting The Governor After Accusing Him Of Sexual Harassment)

Cuomo’s inner circle brought in a number of people with no official role in the executive chamber to deal with the allegations, according to the report, who were “regularly provided with confidential and often privileged information about state operations” and helped make key decisions.

“The common thread among all of these individuals was a proven, personal loyalty to the Governor,” the report said. “Their inclusion in the deliberations and the significant role they had in decision making reflect how loyalty and personal ties were valued as much, if not more, than any official function or role in State government.”

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel