Cuomo Rep Goes After Trump-Hater, Says She 'Covered Up' Sex Harassment Complaint Against Top Aide
New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing an allegation that she pursued claims of sexual harassment against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo with a whole lot more zeal than she did with what was happening under her nose.
On Friday, Ibrahim Khan, 38, the chief of staff in James’s office and a longtime aide, resigned after facing multiple claims of sexual harassment, according to the New York Post.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi accused James of “actively lying” about her investigation into Khan and keeping the accusations quiet before November’s midterm elections, which she won. James was aware that, even “by her own definition,” Kahn faced serious accusations, the Post reported.
“This is more proof that Tish James has corrupted the AG’s office, abusing power to further her own political ambitions through a sham report. She ‘believes all women’ when it’s in her political interest — otherwise, she attacks the accuser or covers up the complaint,” he said.
Cuomo resigned last year amid mounting accusations of sexual harassment amid a James-led investigation and has since filed an ethics complaint against her office over that probe.
Khan was accused by at least one woman of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing, according to The New York Times, which reported a woman who filed a complaint was told her allegation had been substantiated.
The website NY1 said at least two allegations were made, and that the women did not work for the attorney general’s office at the time the allegations were made.
When we asked about this yesterday, we were told that we were spreading gossip and it was beneath the Washington Post by the AG spokesman. Today, they say they’ve done an investigation and he’s resigned. https://t.co/ezOXRjIeVO
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) December 2, 2022
Khan has worked for James since 2013, when she was New York City’s public advocate.
Khan offered a reason for his departure that had nothing to do with the probe.
“I’ve been slated to leave the office for the private sector at the end of this year,” he said in a statement Friday, according to the Times.
Khan said his departure was “unrelated to an investigation which, nevertheless, found no official workplace misconduct.”
The Times said Khan’s claim that there was no connection and no official allegation against him could not be verified.
Two Republicans noted the post-election timing of the news, coming after James was elected to a new term, according to NY1.
“These incidents and investigations of sexual harassment were intentionally hidden from the public, and now conveniently come out after Election Day. The attorney general’s office was investigating the governor for the same offenses being committed within her own office. It’s tough to match this level of hypocrisy,” Republican Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said.
Republican state Sen. Tom O’Mara, the ranking Republican on the state Senate Investigations Committee, said, “The Attorney General is the chief law enforcement officer of the state and when she fails to enforce the law within her own office, it calls into question her fitness for the job.
“There must be an immediate, independent investigation about what she knew about these allegations, when she knew it, and if they were properly addressed.”
The attorney general’s office said an investigation was conducted by an outside law firm, Littler Mendelson.
However, a representative of the state comptroller’s office said no contract was pending.
Delaney Kempner, a representative for James, admitted no contract was issued.
“Due to the time it takes for financial terms to be appropriately reviewed and approved, it is not unusual for Office of Attorney General to engage a firm for time sensitive matters with an engagement letter while financial terms are being reviewed,” she said
The furor surrounding Khan’s resignation and how James handled the investigation comes as former President Donald Trump is suing James, according to WABC-TV.
Trump’s lawsuit said James used her state office “to pursue a relentless, pernicious, public, and unapologetic crusade against President Trump, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, with the stated goal of destroying him personally, financially, and politically.”
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