Andrew Cuomo to be questioned in state sexual harassment probe
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to be questioned this weekend as part of an independent state probe into allegations he sexually harassed current and former female aides, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday.
Outside lawyers hired by state Attorney General Letitia
James plan to interview Cuomo in Albany on Saturday, the source said.
The move may be a sign that the four-month investigation is
entering its final stages, according to the New York Times, which first
reported the development.
But Cuomo and other witnesses could still be re-interviewed
depending on what he says and what other evidence is uncovered, the Times said.
James is on track, however, to issue a report on the
findings by the end of the summer, a person familiar with the probe told The
Times.
Cuomo, a three-term Democrat, is up for re-election next
year and held a fundraiser in midtown Manhattan last month that reportedly
netted him $1 million in campaign cash from backers who included some of the
state’s powerful labor leaders.
But the head of the Transport Workers Union — who didn’t
attend and exclusively told The Post that he’s “considering an alternative to
Cuomo” — said the governor’s support from organized labor could disappear,
depending on what James’ probe reveals.
“If the AG’s report finds any semblance of wrongdoing
regarding Cuomo’s behavior, he’ll find out very quickly he doesn’t have friends
in the trade movement,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said
Thursday.
The AG’s investigation is being led by former Manhattan US
Attorney Joon Kim and Anne Clark, a leading employment lawyer.
James hired them in March after Cuomo’s office authorized
her to conduct an independent investigation following initial resistance from
the governor’s special counsel, Beth Garvey, who shortly afterward was named
his acting counsel.
The cost of the probe hasn’t been made public, but a source
familiar with the matter on Thursday told The Post that the AG’s contracts with
Kim’s and Clark’s firms — Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Vladeck,
Raskin & Clark, respectively — were worth a total of $3.5 million.
In addition to the sexual harassment allegations, the
lawyers are looking into allegations that state workers worked on Cuomo’s most
recent memoir, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19
Pandemic.”
Cuomo sold the rights to that book for $5.1 million.
In a prepared statement, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi
said, “We have said repeatedly that the governor doesn’t want to comment on
this review until he has cooperated, but the continued leaks are more evidence
of the transparent political motivation of the Attorney General’s review.”
The AG’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for
comment.
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