Journalist Lindsay Nielsen Says Cuomo Admin’s Bullying Led Her to Quit Job

By: David Mihanknie

A former New York journalist also came forth with allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo. As reported by the NY Post, she says the “personal attacks” she faced from Cuomo’s administration were a reason she had quit her job.

On Sunday, Lindsay Nielsen took to Twitter to post about the “threatening” tactics and “incessant bullying” she endured from the governor’s office. In 2017, she had left her job at News10 ABC, where she had worked since 2012. On Monday, in an interview with The Post, she said that the alleged harassment was “one of the reasons” she quit. “I didn’t want to deal with it anymore,” she said.

“It was during one of the many accusatory and threatening phone calls I received by his staff members that I realized this behavior was never going to stop,” Nielsen wrote in the Twitter post. “The late night phone calls from the administration, the constant threats to call my boss, the incessant bullying to try and get me to stop doing my job and reporting specific stories…it would never end,” she continued. “They skimmed the line of inappropriateness ever so delicately as to make you feel like they were acceptable”. She said she wanted them to “know that not only was it not acceptable but also that it was damaging.”

Gov. Cuomo is now facing a probe led by Attorney General Letitia James, regarding sexual misconduct allegations from two former staffers— Lindsey Boylan, who claims Cuomo forced an unwanted kiss onto her lips, and Charlotte Bennett, who said exchanges convinced her that the third term governor “wanted to sleep with” her.

Nielsen came forward with her public Twitter accusations on Sunday, explaining that she decided to speak up after seeing similar allegations against the Cuomo administration, including from Morgan Pehme, who served as editor-in-chief of City & State from 2012 to 2014. “I don’t want another reporter to have to go through that. That’s why I did it,” Nielsen said.

On Sunday, Cuomo had made a public apology concerning the sexual misconduct allegations, brushing the allegations off as “jokes” that were misinterpreted. “I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.” Cuomo added, “To be clear, I never inappropriately touched anybody, and I never propositioned anybody, and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable.” “But these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to,” Cuomo said.