Cuomo bows to pressure, will allow AG to direct inquiry
At the end of a tumultuous day, state Attorney General Letitia James demanded and received a referral from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to oversee a full investigation of the sexual harassment allegations made against him in recent days by two female former staffers.
The shift occurred after Cuomo had initially proposed a “review” by an outside attorney, then floated the idea of having James and state Chief Judge Janet Difiore select an out- side attorney
— both no- tions that
James rejected as insufficient.
In the end, Cuomo said his office will allow James to deputize a private lawyer or firm to investigate the allegations, with full subpoena power under the law.
Cuomo’s backpedaling Sunday happened under intense bipartisan pressure from national and state politicians, and even from within his own administration, seeking a truly independent probe of the allegations.
Several Senate Democrats had also threatened Sunday afternoon that if Cuomo refused to refer the matter to James for a full investigation, they would support changing the law to enable James to open her own investigation. State Sen. Todd Kaminsky of Long Island said he would introduce a bill Monday, and Sen. Liz Krueger — who chairs the powerful Senate Finance Committee — expressed her support for such a measure.
Cuomo’s concession came
just before he released a statement apologizing for how some of his actions may have been “misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.”
Former Cuomo staffer Lindsey Boylan published an essay last week detailing her claims of harassment by Cuomo. Then The New York Times on Saturday night released a story describing the claims made by Charlotte Bennett, a second former staffer who alleged workplace sexual harassment by Cuomo.
The governor’s office initially said Cuomo had selected Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge, to handle a review of the matter — a plan that lawmakers of both parties quickly rejected as insufficient in part due to Jones’ professional connection to Steven M. Cohen, a longtime Cuomo aide and confidant.
In response, Cuomo’s office at midday Sunday pivoted in a statement that said it would ask the attorney general and Difiore, the chief judge of the Court of Appeals, to select “an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report.”
But that proposal also raised eyebrows: Difiore was nominated to the state’s top court by Cuomo, and she previously served as his handpicked chairwoman of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, a body that has been roundly criticized for what many see as excessive influence by the governor.
Others noted that the chief judge would play a key role in any impeachment proceedings that might be brought against Cuomo, which Republicans have already pushed for weeks over his administration’s nursing home policies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Difiore released a brief statement saying that she would be willing to take part in selecting the person to review the allegations.
James issued a statement asking for the formal referral she would need to investigate the sexual harassment allegations at almost the exact moment Cuomo announced the Difiore proposal. Later in the afternoon, she released another statement shooting down the governor’s initial fallback suggestion.
“To clarify, I do not accept the governor’s proposal,” James said. “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, 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.”
Without that referral, any inquiry would be toothless. Cuomo staffers could not be required to testify, nor could documents be demanded.
Finally, Cuomo’s legal adviser emailed a statement on Sunday evening affirming that the governor will refer the matter for investigation to an attorney of James’ choosing, and the investigator would have full subpoena power, which was the main sticking point for Democratic leaders across New York.
Cuomo’s earlier proposals stood in stark contrast to the practice of his two immediate predecessors, governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson, both of whom empowered the attorney general to investigate allegations of wrongdoing involving either their top staffers or the governors themselves.
The attorney general at that time was Cuomo, whose office investigated allegations that Spitzer’s administration had used state resources to engineer a political attack on thensenate majority leader Joe Bruno, a Republican. But Cuomo recused himself in 2010 — shortly before formally launching his run for governor — from investigating ethical charges against Paterson, assigning the matters to an outside investigator, former Chief Judge Judith Kaye.
Saturday’s Times story on Bennett’s claims alleged Cuomo had made sexual advances to her, asking her if she’d ever been in a sexual relationship with an older man and telling her he’d like to date a girl who was her age. The 25-yearold said that she believed Cuomo had “groomed” her, offering her mentorship to ingratiate himself and test her boundaries, before he began making sexual comments. After she brought forth allegations to Cuomo aides, she was transferred to another part of the administration; Bennett subsequently left state government because “his presence was so suffocating.”
Cuomo’s overnight change in course was a sign that the governor’s options were growing limited in the face of overlapping scandals, which now include the two sexual harassment allegations as well as a federal probe of the administration’s handling of COVID -19 in nursing homes. James released an explosive report in late January alleging that Cuomo’s administration had undercounted the deaths of nursing home residents by as much as 50 percent; her office only notified the governor’s team shortly before the report went live.
Twenty-five Democratic assemblywomen released a statement Sunday morning calling for “an independent investigation ... with unfettered authority to subpoena witnesses, to seek the production of documents, and to bring whatever charges are warranted. The governor’s proposal to appoint someone who is not independently elected, has no subpoena authority, and no prosecutorial authority is inadequate.”
Democratic members of Congress from across the state — including representatives Antonio Delgado, Alexandria Ocasiocortez, Grace Meng and others — also called for the investigation to be referred to the attorney general. Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on CNN that it “was hard to read (Bennett’s) story as a woman,” and that President Joe Biden believes there “should be an independent review looking into these allegations.”
“These allegations are serious and deeply concerning. As requested by Attorney General James, the matter should be referred to her office so that she can conduct a transparent, independent and thorough investigation with subpoena power,” U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand wrote later Sunday afternoon.
Others have gone further: Many Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, have called for Cuomo’s resignation. They were joined over the weekend by a smattering of progressive Democrats around the state, such as state Assembly members Ron Kim — who recently alleged Cuomo threatened to end his career for criticizing his handling of nursing homes — Harvey Epstein and Yuh-line Niou, as well as state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi of Westchester, who said Cuomo’s alleged conduct was “the epitome of a hostile work environment.”
“As a New Yorker, a legislator, chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Gov. Cuomo to resign,” she said.