Cuomo administration grants New York attorney general authority to investigate sexual harassment claims

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday received the referral letter granting her office authority to move forward with an independent investigation after two former staffers accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment.

"Today, the executive chamber transmitted a referral letter to our office, providing us the authority to move forward with an independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment claims made against Governor Cuomo," James said in a statement. "This is not a responsibility we take lightly as allegations of sexual harassment should always be taken seriously."

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James added: "As the letter states, at the close of the review, the findings will be disclosed in a public report."

The letter to James’ office came from Cuomo special counsel and senior advisor Beth Garvey, stating that the governor "is hereby making a referral" pursuant to executive law "for you to select an independent law firm to conduct an inquiry into allegations of and circumstances surrounding sexual harassment claims made against the governor.

Garvey added, per New York law, "that private attorney or private attorneys, may be designated as Special Deputy Attorney General or Assistant Deputy Attorney General, to conduct the review."

Garvey wrote that "nothing in this letter is intended to constrain or limit any of the powers inherent" in the law, but noted that "weekly reports" will "not be approved by or transmitted to the Executive."

"At the close of the review, the findings will be disclosed in a public report," Garvey wrote. "All New York State employees have been directed to cooperate fully with this review."

She added that she will "serve as point of contact for any witness interviews or document production for the Executive Chamber and will connect you with appropriate counsel in any other agency or entity for any documents or witnesses necessary for the review."

Meanwhile, Cuomo on Monday afternoon, according to The Wall Street Journal, retained a white-collar criminal defense attorney Elkan Abramowitz amid the investigations into the allegations of sexual harassment and into Cuomo’s coronavirus policy. Thousands of COVID-19 deaths occurred in nursing homes in the state.

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But the investigation into sexual harassment comes after former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan last week published a blog post accusing the governor of unwanted kissing and touching and inappropriate comments.

Boylan accused the governor of going "out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs," kissing her while they were alone in his office, and suggesting that they "play strip poker" during a plane ride.

Cuomo's office denied Boylan's harassment claims, calling them "simply false" and insisting the strip poker comment "did not happen."

Over the weekend, former Cuomo adviser Charlotte Bennett also came forward, saying the governor asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men.

The 25-year-old staffer described to the New York Times an incident that took place in June when she was "alone" with the 63-year-old governor in his State Capitol office. According to the report, he allegedly asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships and that he was open to having relationships with women in their 20s, which were noted by the Times as "comments she interpreted as clear overtures to a sexual relationship."

In response to the allegations, Cuomo told the Times that he "never made advances toward Ms. Bennett, nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate."

On Sunday, Cuomo said in a statement that while at work he likes to "make jokes that I think are funny," and has "teased people about their personal lives, their relationships, about getting married or not getting married." The governor claimed that he did not mean to offend anyone but recognized that he now sees "that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended."

Cuomo added: "I acknowledge some of the things I have said have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation."

As for the nursing home investigations, House Republicans want to subpoena Cuomo to testify before Congress, as the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn are believed to have begun an investigation into how the Cuomo administration handled the state’s nursing home crisis during the pandemic.

The investigation is not yet far along and is focused on top members of Cuomo’s coronavirus task force, the Albany Times-Union reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter. Neither Cuomo nor any administration official has at this point been accused of any wrongdoing.

Members of Cuomo's task force include New York State Health Commissioner Howard Zucker and Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa. The latter drew scrutiny this month after she seemingly admitted the governor’s team withheld information related to COVID-19-related deaths at nursing homes.

Also, Republicans in the New York State Assembly announced last week that they will form an impeachment commission to "gather facts and evidence" surrounding Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus crisis and underreported COVID-19 nursing home deaths in the state. 

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The inquiries and investigations were spurred by James’ report, released last month, which revealed that, as of Jan. 27, 2021, there were 5,597 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 in nursing homes and an additional 2,783 presumed deaths. In assisted care facilities, there were 160 deaths and 52 presumed deaths.

James' report said government guidance requiring the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities and may have obscured the data available to assess that risk.

Cuomo has defended the nursing home policy as in line with guidance from the Trump administration at the time.

James' report said government guidance requiring the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes may have put residents at increased risk of harm in some facilities and may have obscured the data available to assess that risk.

The Office of the Attorney General asked 62 nursing homes to provide data about deaths in their facilities. 

The report, which revealed the findings of an investigation into allegations of patient neglect and other "concerning conduct" that jeopardized the health and safety of both patients and employees, said that some facilities failed to comply with health protocols to stop the spread of the virus. 

About 70% of the nearly 35,000 COVID-19 deaths in New York state were people aged 70 and older, according to state data as of Jan. 28.

Fox News' Ronn Blitzer and Tamara Gitt contributed to this report.