Scott Stringer, the former City Comptroller, has alleged that the remarks that upended the 2021 mayoral election were part of a malicious strategy executed by political operatives tied to Andrew Yang. He’s currently pursuing a defamation lawsuit against his accuser, Gene Kim, and claims that a consultant associated with Yang’s failed campaign leveled serious accusations against him last year.
According to recent court documents, Stringer intends to include the consulting firm Tusk Strategies and its founder, Bradley Tusk, in the lawsuit against Kim. This move follows claims that an anonymous consultant for Yang informed Stringer that “all the defamatory statements against his campaign were fabricated by Tusk” after the consultant read an article in the New York Times about the #MeToo movement last March.
Stringer has insisted that he has thoroughly examined the information presented by the consultant in order to validate its authenticity. Notably, his legal team has previously attempted to settle the matter directly with Tusk but met with no success.
In April 2021, Kim’s attorney conceded that Stringer had allegedly “groped her and repeatedly engaged in sexual contact without her consent,” insisting that he made numerous sexual advances that she rebuffed. Kim later held a press conference, claiming Stringer repeatedly asked her, “Why won’t you fk me?” during her time as an unpaid intern on his 2001 campaign for public defenders.
Before these allegations came to light, a NY1/Ipsos poll placed Stringer in third for the Democratic mayoral primary, with 11% of likely voters selecting him as their preferred candidate. However, about two weeks post-Kim’s press conference, his support dwindled to 9%. In the election, he ultimately finished fifth, collecting just 5.5% in the initial round of voting, while Mayor Eric Adams claimed victory in the ranking match.
His bid for the Democratic Party’s nomination during last year’s primary was unable to gain any real traction.
