OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
A criminal complaint has been filed against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and his attorneys are fighting back, saying that the investigation into the governor had a pre-determined outcome.
The woman , known as “executive assistant 1,” accused Gov. Cuomo of groping her breast last year when they took a selfie together has filed a criminal complaint with the Albany county sheriff’s department on Friday, The New York Times reported.
The criminal complaint from the woman, an executive assistant whose name has not been publicized, increases the possibility that the governor could face criminal charges related to his behavior, though charges, let alone a conviction, are not guaranteed.
But any escalation of Mr. Cuomo’s legal problems could also serve to heighten his political woes as the State Assembly concludes its investigation into his conduct and prepares to draft articles of impeachment against him.
The Albany County district attorney, David Soares, is one of five prosecutors who have so far indicated that their offices are investigating the governor’s conduct after a report from the New York State attorney general’s office this week found that he had sexually harassed 11 women, many of whom were current or former employees.
This comes as four criminal prosecutors, in Albany, Westchester, Manhattan and Nassau County have said they are reviewing the evidence found in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report to determine if they will file criminal charges.
Attorneys Paul Fishman, Mitra Hormozi and Rita Glavin are holding a media availability on the Independent Reviewer Report. Watch Live: https://t.co/bZmUij7deJ
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 6, 2021
One of the governor’s attorneys, Rita Glavin, said “ There has been no open-minded fact-finding in this case. The investigation was conducted to support a predetermined narrative.”
“The investigators acted as prosecutors, judge and jury,” she said.
Glavin said that the governor, nor his office, were given advance notice of James’ report, but that caused confusion for some.
“While Cuomo’s attorney, Rita Glavin, says the AG’a office was given no notice of the release of the report and they got it at the same time as the public. Note that the governor’s office released a taped video of Cuomo’s response and an 85-page rebuttal within hours of report.,” Times Union reporter Josh Solomon said.
While Cuomo’s attorney, Rita Glavin, says the AG’a office was given no notice of the release of the report and they got it at the same time as the public.
Note that the governor’s office released a taped video of Cuomo’s response and an 85-page rebuttal within hours of report.
— Josh Solomon (@therealjsolo) August 6, 2021
“Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law,” the attorney general said in announcing her report.
And the report on Gov. Cuomo was damning.
“For over three months, Executive Assistant #1 kept this groping incident to herself and planned to take it ‘to the grave,’ but found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the Executive Chamber) while watching the Governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that he had never ‘touched anyone inappropriately’ She then confided in certain of her colleagues, who in turn reported her allegations to senior staff in the Executive Chamber,” the report said.
And he may get impeached because of it.
Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou says she has drafted articles of impeachment against Cuomo.
She said she’s had impeachment articles drafted for a long time.
“I had them drafted yesterday,” Niou said. “I had them drafted months ago.”
“These women were just trying to go through a day doing their jobs,” Niou added. “They never asked to be abused or harassed.”
“It took 179 witnesses and a statewide investigation by the Attorney General to hold one powerful man accountable — tell me again that New York doesn’t have a power problem,” Niou said.
Democrat New York Speaker of the House Carl Heastie seemed to suggest he would support impeachment.
“After our conference this afternoon to discuss the Attorney General’s report concerning sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo, it is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said.
“Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible,” he added.
