New York Governor Andrew Cuomo mentioned he questioned the neutrality and had “fears as to the independence of the reviewers,” hired by point out Legal professional Standard Letitia James to investigate the sexual harassment statements.
James appointed Joon Kim, the former performing U.S. legal professional for Manhattan, and Anne Clark, a discrimination attorney, to perform the investigations. They have both equally expended months conversing to ladies who claimed Cuomo touched them inappropriately or manufactured sexual remarks. A single lady even claimed he had groped her breasts.
He finally thinks he will be exonerated of allegations of sexual harassment.
For far more reporting from the Associated Push, see beneath.
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“Do a minimal heritage. Go to Google,” Cuomo explained to reporters at a push meeting at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. “Google the impartial investigators.”
He didn’t elaborate, but his responses appeared to be a reference to Kim’s perform as a best federal prosecutor. In that job, Kim assisted immediate an anti-corruption investigation that sent a single of Cuomo’s major aides and near close friends, Joseph Percoco, to prison. Percoco was convicted of accepting far more than $300,000 from organizations that desired influence with Cuomo’s administration.
Kim also was a senior determine in the U.S. attorney’s business office during its investigation of corruption in Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” financial progress method. A Cuomo ally, the previous head of the Condition University of New York’s Polytechnic Institute was convicted.
The chair of the New York Assembly’s judiciary committee, Charles Lavine, wrote a letter to Cuomo last week warning his office to prevent disparaging the investigators, declaring it had the possible to mail a “chilling signal to any probable witnesses.”
Cuomo was explained to have been scheduled to meet two weekends back with James’ investigators. His spokesperson, Prosperous Azzopardi, has declined to say no matter whether that meeting took location.
Cuomo, who has denied allegations he inappropriately touched woman aides and other girls, claimed he is “keen” for New Yorkers to get the facts of what transpired.
“And I consider when they hear the actual points of what happened and how the circumstance has been handled, I imagine they’re heading to be shocked, shocked,” he reported.
Individually, a further crew of lawyers working for the condition Assembly is investigating irrespective of whether there are grounds to impeach Cuomo. James’ report is anticipated to play a vital job in the Assembly’s impeachment inquiry.
Cuomo, James and Lavine are all Democrats.
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