Cuomo Files Lawsuit Against New York AG Over Sexual Misconduct Interviews

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JULY 06: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declares a state of emergency Tuesday due to the ongoing violence on July 06, 2021 in New York City.The new declaration by Cuomo will come with millions of dollars for gun and violence prevention programs across the state. The governor also announced that he will be signing a law that bars individuals with active warrants from buying a gun in the state of New York. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, 51 people were shot in New York. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed a lawsuit against the state’s Attorney General, Letitia James, on Thursday in a bid to get access to statements from a sexual misconduct probe launched against him.

In his 26-page lawsuit on Jan. 18, Mr. Cuomo said the attorney general had refused to release the requested materials, which consists of statements from 179 witnesses, due to “various privileges.”

“Governor Cuomo has repeatedly asked the OAG for the requested materials since the report was released more than two years ago, but respondent James has steadfastly refused to produce the evidence despite her August 3, 2021, public promise to release it,” the complaint reads.

The complaint states that Ms. James’s refusal to release the requested materials “has been and continues to be a denial of fundamental due process.”

Mr. Cuomo argued that he needs the witness statements to defend himself in two sexual harassment lawsuits that “stem directly” from the attorney general’s investigation and subsequent report.

“Governor Cuomo vehemently denies having sexually harassed anyone, and the witness statements relating to the allegations in both actions are critical to his defense,” it stated.

Mr. Cuomo said “the public has both a right and interest in knowing” about the work of Ms. James’s “full basis” in making the decisions to issue “the consequential report” that led to his resignation in 2021.

“The report was a one-sided, deeply flawed ambush of Governor Cuomo, who denies having sexually harassed anyone,” his lawsuit reads.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the attorney general’s office for comments.

The former governor, once a rising star in the Democratic Party, resigned in 2021 after a report by the attorney general’s office concluded he sexually harassed at least 11 women.

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the press outside the New York State Supreme Court after closing arguments in the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization in New York, on Jan. 11, 2024. Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Ms. James announced in 2021 that investigators had found Mr. Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women “by engaging in unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging, and making inappropriate comments.”

Mr. Cuomo and his senior staff also allegedly took actions to retaliate against at least one former employee for coming forward with her story.

“I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth.

“No man—no matter how powerful—can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period,” the attorney general said at the time.

Mr. Cuomo has denied the allegations. He and his backers have repeatedly criticized Ms. James and the sexual misconduct investigation as unfair. Mr. Cuomo is rumored to be contemplating a political comeback.

A total of 179 complainants, current and former members of the Executive Chamber, State Troopers, state employees, and others who interacted regularly with Mr. Cuomo were interviewed over the course of the investigation.

More than 74,000 documents, emails, texts, and pictures were also reviewed as evidence during the investigation, according to the attorney general.

In November last year, Brittany Commisso, a former aide to Mr. Cuomo, filed an Adult Survivors Act lawsuit against him, alleging “continuous sexual harassment” during her employment.

In her filing, Ms. Commisso alleged that she was subjected to “pervasive abusive conduct” and “continuous sexual harassment” by Mr. Cuomo while she worked as his executive assistant in the New York State Executive Chamber from December 2019 to August 2021.

Ms. Commisso alleged that Mr. Cuomo continuously subjected her to “humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses, sexual touching of the buttocks, and forcible touching of the breast” during her tenure.

Mr. Cuomo’s attorney, Rita M. Glavin, has denied the allegations and called Ms. Commisso’s lawsuit a “cash grab” attempt.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.