New York AG rejects Cuomo proposal for sexual harassment investigation

NEW YORK — New York State Attorney General Letitia James rejected a proposal from Gov. Andrew Cuomo to have her and the state’s top judge set up an independent investigation of sexual harassment allegations against him without subpoena power.

“I do not accept the governor’s proposal,” James said in a Sunday statement. “The state’s Executive Law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral.

“While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore,” she continued, “I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law. The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.”

Earlier Sunday, James issued a statement asking Cuomo to make a formal referral to create an investigation, adding “that must include subpoena power.”

“Allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously,” she’d stated. “I stand ready to oversee that investigation and make any appointments necessary.”

A Cuomo lawyer said the governor would ask James and DiFiore, the chief judge of the state court of appeals, to oversee a probe — but stopped short of making a formal referral and made no mention of subpoena power.

“We will leave all decisions concerning the investigation to be made in the discretion of the independent counsel selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge,” Cuomo lawyer and senior adviser Beth Garvey said in a follow-up statement.

Cuomo had previously selected former Federal Judge Barbara Jones to conduct a probe of his own conduct, but was criticized because of ties between her and his administration — Jones used to work for the Zuckerman Spaeder law firm alongside Steven Cohen, a prominent Cuomo insider.

A group of Assemblywomen rejected Cuomo’s latest proposal as inadequate.

“There is a need for an independent investigation into the recent sexual harassment allegations with unfettered authority to issue subpoenas, to seek the production of documents and to bring whatever charges are warranted,” stated 25 lawmakers including Assemblywomen Carmen De La Rosa (D-Manhattan), Yuh-Line Niou (D-Manhattan), Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) and Phara Souffrant Forrest (D-Brooklyn).

“The governor’s proposal to appoint someone who is not independently elected, has no subpoena authority and no prosecutorial authority is inadequate,” they added.

Sunday’s moves came after the White House joined calls for an independent investigation of the bombshell allegations.

“There should be an independent review looking into these allegations, and that’s certainly something he supports and we believe should move forward as quickly as possible,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Sunday of President Biden’s stance.

The comments came after a report Saturday detailing allegations of sexual harassment against Cuomo from a second former aide.

Charlotte Bennett told the New York Times the governor had asked her questions about her sex life, whether she “had ever been with an older man” and made her feel “horribly uncomfortable and scared.”

Lindsey Boylan, another former Cuomo aide, last week wrote that the governor would often touch her inappropriately, make her uncomfortable at work and once kissed her on the lips without her consent.

“They should be able to tell their story,” Psaki told CNN, calling the allegations “serious.” “It was hard to read that story, as a woman.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday repeated his calls for the governor to lose the emergency powers that the state legislature granted him at the start of the pandemic.

Hizzoner also called for two separate probes — one of Cuomo’s controversial handling of nursing home deaths, the other of the sexual harassment allegations.

“Precedence shows that investigations of the governor must be completely independent of his office,” stated de Blasio, who’s feuded with Cuomo throughout his time in office.

“The investigation into nursing home deaths must be free to examine campaign contributions from the nursing home industry,” the mayor added. “And the investigation into sexual misconduct must be led by someone fully independent of the governor, not the former business partner of the governor’s top adviser.”