New York AG Letitia James hits back at Andrew Cuomo's claim her sexual harassment probe was a 'sham' to launch her bid for governor and says 'thousands of pieces of evidence' back 'all the allegations' against him
New York Attorney General Letitia James has fired back at Andrew Cuomo's claim that her report on the sexual harassment allegations against him was a politically motivated ploy to launch her candidacy for governor.
Speaking to reporters on Monday in Manhattan days after announcing her own candidacy, James defended her August report that led directly to Cuomo's resignation as governor, according to the New York Post.
'Listen, we completed our investigation. Our investigation included thousands and thousands of pieces of evidence and substantiated and corroborated all of the allegations,' she said.
'The Sheriff of Albany County has engaged in an independent investigation and my work is done. But I believe the women,' added James, an elected Democrat.
The fierce war of words comes as the 2022 New York governor's race heats up, with James openly challenging Cuomo's replacement, Democrat Kathy Hochul, and Mayor Bill de Blasio reportedly mulling his own bid for the Executive Mansion.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has fired back at Andrew Cuomo's claim that her report on the sexual harassment allegations against him was politically motivated
James was responding to a series of blistering statements from the Cuomo camp, accusing her and Sheriff Craig Apple of a pursuing a politically motivated 'sham'
James was responding to a series of blistering statements from the Cuomo camp, accusing her and Sheriff Craig Apple of a pursuing a politically motivated 'sham' after Apple filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo without consulting prosecutors or informing the accuser, who says the Democrat groped her late last year.
The one-page complaint filed in Albany City Court accuses Cuomo of forcible touching by putting his hand under a woman's shirt on December 7.
The complaint did not name the woman, but she has identified herself as Brittany Commisso, who worked as one of Cuomo's executive assistants before he resigned amid sexual harassment allegations in August.
On Sunday, the Cuomo camp had issued a lengthy statement saying that 'Sheriff Apple and Tish James have epitomized the worst combination of politics, incompetence and abuse of the law.'
'Despite Apple’s claim that there is "overwhelming evidence", he has offered zero evidence corroborating the claim. Likewise the James report did not offer any corroborating evidence of the claim,' the Cuomo statement added.
James on Monday responded saying: 'This is nothing more than an attempt by the former governor to undermine and politicize this report.'
'I believe the women. They obviously told their truth. And we are going to stand by our report,' she added, according to NY1.
Cuomo is pictured with Brittany Commisso, the former aide who claims he groped her breast in the Executive Mansion in November 2020. The picture was taken in 2019 and she says he'd touched her behind shortly before it was taken
Cuomo's loyal spokesman Rich Azzopardi fired back at James in a statement on Twitter, calling her a 'Gubernatorial-wannabe'.
James 'has refused to answer for the countless mistruths, mistakes and outright deceptions' in her 168-page report detailing sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, said Azzopardi.
'Every time James is asked about it, it's the same platitudes and deflections. It's clear she thinks New Yorkers are stupid but they know she won't discuss it because she can't defend it,' he added.
In a letter to Sheriff Apple on Saturday, Cuomo lawyer Rita Glavin demanded that the sheriff's office preserve all records related to the case, including any notes of conversations it had with the woman who accused the ex-governor of groping her, Brittany Commisso.
It also asked for records of any communications with two legal teams that investigated Cuomo's conduct, one that worked for the state Assembly and another for Attorney General Letitia James.
A preservation letter is a standard legal tactic. Criminal defendants are entitled to a broad scope of evidence and other material related to an investigation, which is typically turned over before trial.
Cuomo resigned from office in August after investigators working for James authored a report concluding he had sexually harassed 11 women, including Commisso.
At a news conference Friday, Apple said he was confident in the strength of the case and insisted politics played no role. He also called the governor's operatives 'bullies.'
At a news conference Friday, Sheriff Apple said he was confident in the strength of the case and insisted politics played no role. He also called the governor's operatives 'bullies'
The complaint, which was signed by an investigator from the Albany County Sheriff's Office, alleges that the former governor 'intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim and onto her intimate body part'
Sheriff Apple insisted on Friday that the sexual assault charge is not a political ploy by James, despite it being released on the same day as she announced her own run for governor.
Cuomo's team has accused her of purposely ignoring evidence in his favor because she wanted him out of office.
Sheriff Apple called it 'ridiculous' to insinuate that the police department was doing a 'political hit job' and ensured the public they had 'overwhelming evidence,' as he announced Cuomo will have to get a mug shot.
'How is the Albany County Sheriff doing a political hit job? That is ridiculous,' he said.
'We have an overwhelming amount of evidence, we have a victim who has been cooperating fully every day, every step of the way. As far as conviction, that's going to be down to the jury, the judge… I feel very confident that the DA is going to prosecute this. We met our burden as far as probable cause and we have filed.'
Commisso claimed that she felt violated and that Cuomo wouldn't 'touch his mother' the way he did her. He has always denied her claims
Announcing her run for governor in 2022 on Friday James said: 'New Yorkers need a governor who isn't afraid to stand up to powerful interests on behalf of the vulnerable.
'Throughout my career, I've taken on big forces and New Yorkers know I will never back down when it comes to fighting for them. Today, I am proud to announce my candidacy for governor of New York so we can bring transformational change that uplifts all New Yorkers.'
Apple defended his decision to file a criminal complaint against Cuomo, 63, without consulting prosecutors or informing the accuser, a woman who says she was groped by the Democrat last year.
'We didn't want everybody to know exactly what we were doing because we didn't want all this, the circus,' Craig said in an interview with radio host Paul Vandenburgh on Albany's Talk 1300.
Apple also said he did not intend for the criminal charges to become public so soon, but he said the case should go forward.
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