HRC announces independent review of president ensnared in N.Y. AG report

The country’s leading LGBTQ advocacy group has announced it will conduct an independent review of Alphonso David, the president of the human rights campaign, after he became involved in the damning report by the New York Attorney General finding that Governor Andrew Cuomo had broken the law by molesting 11 female employees.

Two emails – one from the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign, the other from David – went out Monday morning announcing that the independent review would be carried out by Chicago-based Sidney Austin LLP, which will take no more than 30 days . The emails were shared with Washington Blade and a human rights campaign representative confirmed that the emails were correct.

David says in his email that he “fully supports”[s]“The review, which reiterates that he has joined Cuomo, calls for resignation and denies any wrongdoing.

“One thing this dire situation reminds us of is that discrimination, wrongdoing and abuse often thrive in the dark, and it makes me more determined than ever to continue to fight injustice and speak for those who need our voices” writes David.

A spokesman for Sidney Austin LLP did not respond in time to this post to comment on the nature of the review, who will be doing it, or the schedule to meet benchmarks within that 30 day window.

The announcement comes almost a week after New York Attorney General Letitia James released the explosive report that sent shock waves across the LGBTQ community as many urged David to step down.

David has denied any wrongdoing from the start and the human rights campaign board stood by him by announcing on the day the report was released that the organization had extended his contract for another five years.

Internally, the situation is tense for David as the organization suffers from high turnover and the movement is under pressure as anti-transgender laws are pushed through the state parliaments and the equality law is held up in Congress. According to a report in the Huffington Post, a recording of an hour-long staff briefing between David and staff on Wednesday revealed a tense question when they asked him about his role in the Cuomo affair. One employee asked, “When are you going to quit?”

Another LGBTQ advocate featured on the report is already taking steps. Robert Kaplan, who successfully argued against the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013 and carried out cases of women accusing former President Trump of sexual assault, is according to reports from the Associated. resigned from his role as a board member of “Time’s Up” Press and New York Times.

(The report described Kaplan reviewing and reading a potential comment attempting to discredit one of the sexual harassment survivors to see if it was okay to post. The comment was unpublished.)

The HRC board of directors’ emails on Monday acknowledge the distress caused by David’s inclusion in the LGBTQ community’s report. As mentioned in the email from the board of directors and David, many people in the LGBTQ community are survivors of sexual misconduct. However, both emails express a desire to move on.

“One thing we want to make clear: this investigation will in no way hinder the further pursuit of the critical work of the organization, which is necessary to do justice to and liberate the LGBTQ + community,” wrote the board in the email.

David detailed the findings of the report in his email, claiming he was unaware of an incident of sexual misconduct as described in the report and his inclusion in the report does not indicate any wrongdoing.

Although the report says that David kept a personnel file on one of the prosecutors after he left Cuomo’s office and after being asked for a copy by Cuomo, he helped return it to them for distribution to the media and discredit the defendant David says he was “legally required” to produce the report and “was not involved” in its public dissemination. Why he had the material in the first place is not addressed in his email. David is quoted in the report for having been involved in advising the employee.

Another component of the report suggests that David said he would help identify names for the comment that attempted to discredit the prosecutor despite allegedly saying he would not sign the document. David confirms in his email that he refused to sign it and says he “never agreed to distribute it”.

However, David does not mention a third part of the report in the email address stating that he took part in discussions among Cuomo’s staff to call another accuser and secretly get a tapping to discredit her. David told the Blade that this was because his role in the conversation was his legal counsel.

Despite voices urging David to step down, other LGBTQ leaders have come to David’s defense and others say they are waiting for more information before passing judgment.

Elizabeth Birch, a former human rights campaign executive, said in an email to the Washington Blade that she was behind David.

“I have great respect for Alphonso David,” said Birch. “No person who has suffered sexual harassment should ever be silenced. I believe Alphonso when he says he did not participate in attempts to silence any of Governor Cuomo’s accusers. “

Meanwhile, the report is already hampering efforts to advance the legislative agenda for the LGBTQ movement and the passage of the equality bill, which was as good as dead in the US Senate. Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee last week calling for the AG report to be included in the minutes, relying on the links between David and Cuomo’s sexual misconduct to support the narrative of opponents of the Equal Opportunities Act to claim it poses a threat to women’s safety.

Kierra Johnson, executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, said in an email to Washington Blade that she is withholding the verdict and that her organization is “still processing the media related to the Cuomo investigation and NY AG report.”

“It is imperative, albeit sometimes difficult, that we remain vigilant to find and accept the truth and intervene to make it easier for us to restore confidence and move the work forward,” said Johnson. “In these times we have to slow down, challenge ourselves to articulate and understand complexity and nuances, to resist and adhere to our values. We condemn sexual harassment and abuse and are in solidarity with the survivors’ pursuit of justice. “

However, Johnson added the report makes it clear that Cuomo “should step down” because that would be “the thing for NY and for survivors everywhere”.