POLITICS
HRC Probes Alphonso David After Role in AG Report
David helped the governor and his team while serving as president of HRC
BY MATT TRACY & TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Human Rights Campaign
(HRC) President
Alphonso David, who
previously served as top
counsel to Governor Andrew Cuomo,
is under investigation by HRC
after he worked behind the scenes
to protect the governor after multiple
accusers came forward with numerous
sexual harassment allegations,
according to the explosive report detailed
by the offi ce of New York Attorney
General Letitia James.
David handed over an accuser’s
personnel fi le to the governor’s
team, sought to convince women
to sign a statement praising the
governor, participated in discussions
to secretly record another accuser,
and was among those who
Cuomo “actively consulted” in the
aftermath of the allegations, according
to the report.
In response, HRC has hired a
private law fi rm to conduct an internal
investigation into David.
The allegations against Cuomo
and the subsequent release of the
attorney general’s report prompted
a massive controversy leading up
to the governor’s August 12 announcement
that he would be resigning
in two weeks.
David most recently worked for
the Governor in 2019 and was leading
HRC when he was asked in December
of 2020 by one of Cuomo’s
top aides, Melissa DeRosa, for the
“full fi le” of one of Cuomo’s accusers,
Lindsey Boylan, the report noted.
That request came after Boylan went
public on Twitter with allegations of
sexual harassment stemming from
her time working for Cuomo
The fi le was created in 2018 when
David, who worked for Cuomo at
the time, set up a “counseling session”
with Boylan to address a confl
ict between Boylan and another
employee, according to the report.
DeRosa asked David at the time to
“pls create a fi le for lindsey / Pls
put this in it.”
On December 11 of last year, after
Boylan’s accusations, David proceeded
to send fi les related to Boylan
to Rich Azzopardi, who serves
Human Rights Campaign president Alphonso David.
as director of communications and
senior advisor to Cuomo.
“Some of the internal memoranda
and documents created by Mr.
David and his team for and after
this meeting ended up being the
confi dential documents that were
released to reporters following Ms.
Boylan’s fi rst allegation of sexual
harassment against the Governor,”
the report explained.
David told investigators that he
kept Boylan’s fi le even after leaving
the governor’s offi ce because he said
it “may have been the only instance
where he was actually involved in
a counseling of an employee when
he was in the Executive Chamber,”
according to the report.
By December 15, Cuomo and
some advisors went on to draft a
letter or op-ed to defend himself in
which he “denied the legitimacy of
Ms. Boylan’s allegations, impugned
her credibility, and attacked her
claims as politically motivated (including
with theories about connections
with supporters of President
Trump and a politician with
an alleged interest in running for
Governor),” according to the report.
David was originally listed as one
of the authors of that letter, which
was never published, but David testifi
ed that he “told Ms. DeRosa that
he was not signing the letter but
was willing to reach out to others to
see if they would sign it,” the report
explained. In a December 16 text
message, DeRosa told other former
DONNA ACETO
staff members that David said he
would sign the letter “if we need
him,” according to the report.
Then, on December 17, the report
said David and others “worked on
asking” women to sign a statement
describing “positive experiences of
working with the governor.”
Boylan was one of 11 known
women who Cuomo harassed, according
to the report. Another former
employee, only named Kaitlin
to protect her identity, drew the attention
of Cuomo’s team when she
started retweeting Boylan’s post,
the report noted, and she said
Cuomo’s team started viewing her
LinkedIn profi le. She also received
a call from a former staff member.
“She did not perceive it to be a
genuine call to check in on her
well-being, but rather a fi shing
expedition on behalf of the Executive
Chamber,” the report said.
“Kaitlin’s instinct was correct. The
former staff member testifi ed that
she called Kaitlin — and surreptitiously
recorded the call — at the
insistence of Ms. DeRosa, who ‘was
looking for information about if
Kaitlin was working with Lindsey
Boylan or if she had allegations
against the Governor.’”
David and a former Cuomo aide,
Steve Cohen, and Linda Lacewell,
the superintendent of the Department
of Financial Services, were
“also involved in the discussions
about calling and recording the
call between the former staff member
and Kaitlin,” the report said.
Furthermore, the report conveyed
that “in response to the sexual
harassment allegations, the
Governor and the Executive Chamber
actively consulted” David and
eight others, including Cuomo’s
brother, Chris Cuomo of CNN.
The HRC board of directors and
the HRC Foundation jointly announced
a fi ve-year contract extension
for David on the same day the
report was unveiled, according to
Huffi ngton Post. However, the Huffington
Post obtained audio of a staff
call at the Human Rights Campaign
on August 4 during which employees
questioned David about his
role in the report and, at one point,
someone told him he is “creating a
toxic environment where partners
can’t trust us.” Staffers asked him
whether he would resign.
By August 9, HRC Foundation
board chair Jodie Patterson and
HRC board of directors chair Morgan
Cox announced that HRC hired
Sidley Austin LLP to carry out an
internal investigation. The fi rm will
work directly with the board of directors
for up to 30 days to “shed
light on the events that unfolded
and guide the boards on the necessary
next steps,” the boards said in
a statement fi rst reported by The Advocate
and later announced by HRC
via social media. HRC’s board of
directors and the HRC Foundation
had recently awarded David with a
fi ve-year contract extension on the
day when the report came out, according
to the Huffi ngton Post.
“The investigation will include
consideration of whether Alphonso
David’s actions aligned with HRC’s
mission and values, as well as with
professional and ethics standards,”
the statement added.
“We commend the courage of
the many survivors of sexual assault
and sexual harassment who
have come forward and give them
our full support,” Cox and Patterson
continued. “Human Rights
Campaign and Human Rights
Campaign Foundation President
Alphonso David’s inclusion in the
➤ DAVID, continued on p.7
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