Cuomo under investigation: More district attorneys explore cases against NY governor
Albany County District Attorney David Soares said Cuomo could face criminal charges but he needs cooperation from accusers
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The New York attorney general's report on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment may be only the beginning, as prosecutors in several New York counties have confirmed that they are investigating the allegations against the governor for possible criminal cases.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares said following the release of Attorney General Letitia James' report that his office is looking into the allegations against Cuomo for possible criminal charges.
CUOMO SEXUALLY HARASSED MULTIPLE WOMEN IN VIOLATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAW, AG FINDS
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think after today’s presentation … it’s pretty clear that we have an obligation here, and thus we’ve reached out to the attorney general’s office seeking all of the evidence upon which they uncovered and relied upon to author their report," Soares told NBC's "Nightly News."
Fox News reached out to Cuomo's office for comment but it did not respond. Following the attorney general's announcement of her investigation's findings, the governor released a video statement in which he denied wrongdoing.
NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN DEMANDS CUOMO RESIGNATION FOLLOWING SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROBE
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Soares said the allegations against Cuomo led him and other prosecutors "to believe that criminal activity in fact had indeed taken place" but that his office will carry out its investigation before making any determinations about how to move forward.
In order to do that, however, prosecutors need a formal complaint, which requires the cooperation of at least one of the women, Soares said. His office has reached out to some of them, but he said that so far they have been unable to reach any.
"For any victim that’s out there who’s watching this transmission, please reach out to our office and we will conduct our investigation as discretely as possible," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Soares is not the only DA who is looking into Cuomo. A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney confirmed that they asked for the evidence from the attorney general's probe related to alleged incidents in Manhattan.
"When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan," they said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
District attorneys in Westchester and Nassau Counties have also stated that they requested evidence from the AG's investigation so that they can explore possible cases.
In total, there were 11 women who came forward with allegations against Cuomo, nine of them past or present state employees. The claims ranged from accusations of inappropriate comments to nonconsensual groping.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}WATCH THE COLLAPSE OF CUOMO ON FOX NATION
Investigators for the attorney general's probe said the claims were heavily corroborated. They said Tuesday that they spoke to 179 people and reviewed more than 74,000 pages of documents as part of their investigation.