BREAKING NEWS: America’s largest LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign FIRES its president Alphonso David for advising ex-NY Governor Andrew Cuomo on how to handle sex pest claims
- Alphonso David was fired by a Human Rights Commission board vote Monday
- They said David’s termination was ‘effective immediately’ and that he was fired ‘for violations of his contract’
- He came under fire for helping Cuomo deal with blowback from sexual harassment claims
- David served as counsel to Cuomo before being appointed as the HRC’s first black president in 2019
America’s largest LGBT advocacy group has dramatically fired its president for helping ex-NY Governor Andrew Cuomo with sex pest claims.
The Human Rights Commission announced it had terminated Alphonso David ‘for cause’ after a vote by the group’s board on Monday night.
Board co-chairs Morgan Cox and Jodie Patterson said David’s departure was effective immediately, and that he’d been ousted ‘for violations of his contract with the human rights campaign.’
Their statement added: ‘Yesterday and today, Mr. David released a statement that included significant untruths about the investigation and his status with the organization.
‘At HRC, we are fighting to bring full equality and liberation to LGBTQ+ people everywhere. That includes fighting on behalf of all victims of sexual harassment and assault.’
That was a reference to a statement tweeted by David saying a probe into his dealings with Cuomo had found no evidence of wrongdoing on his part, and that he had no intention of resigning.
He has yet to comment on Monday night’s firing.
David came under fire after New York Attorney General Letitia James named him in her August 6 her report on Cuomo allegedly sexually harassing 11 women.
She claimed David – a trained lawyer – had offered advice on how to handle the blowback, with Cuomo resigning from office in the wake of the scandal.
David, who was the HRC’s first black president, issued a furious rebuttal hours before his firing, claiming he was the victim and that he was being bullied out.
Alphonso David is pictured with former NY Governor Andrew Cuomo in February 2020
David, furthest right, is pictured with Andrew Cuomo while serving as his official counsel in April 2019
His ouster came just two days after he claimed that the investigation into his behavior while working with Cuomo had been completed, that there was no evidence he had done anything wrong, and that he would not be resigning as a result.
David said he’d been asked to resign without a ‘shred of evidence’ as to why he should so so, and added that ‘neither my lawyers nor I ever suggested at any point that I would even consider stepping down.’
HRC co-chairs Jodie Patterson and Morgan Cox sent a company-wide email in response to David’s statement, accusing him of ‘mischaracterization’ and saying that there had been evidence of wrongdoing on his part, without offering further specifics.
He was Counsel to the Governor in September 2018 when Lindsey Boylan – one of 11 women whose claims of sexual harassment have been substantiated this week by the AG – was also working in the state.
Boylan’s complaint saw David tasked with putting together a personnel file on Boylan after several assistants complained to HR that she was a bully.
He had a meeting with her, during which he ‘counseled’ her and she then resigned voluntarily.
David lost his job after it emerged he’d helped Cuomo handle allegations of sexual harassment made by his former staffer Lindsey Boylan, pictured
Developing story, check back for updates
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