The U.S. Department of Justice started a civil inquiry in August into sexual harassment claims made in opposition to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York officers disclosed Thursday.
The precise nature of the inquiry and its present standing was unclear.
The workplace of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took workplace when Cuomo resigned in August, mentioned it employed a regulation agency in October to deal with “matters relating to ongoing investigations inherited from the previous administration,” and that a type of issues was an investigation by the Justice Department’s civil rights division and the U.S. lawyer’s workplace in Brooklyn.
“As this is an ongoing investigation, we will not comment further at this time,” mentioned Hochul’s press secretary, Hazel Crampton-Hays.
The regulation agency’s hiring was initially disclosed in a contract made public Thursday because of public data requests by a number of information organizations.
The contract mentioned the agency, Willkie Farr and Gallagher, is representing the governor’s workplace in a number of investigations associated to the earlier administration, together with a Justice Department inquiry “related to sexual harassment claims made against the then-governor.”
Cuomo introduced he would resign Aug. 10, one week after an investigative report commissioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded he had sexually harassed 11 girls. His final day in workplace was Aug. 23.
Cuomo’s spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, mentioned the previous governor had been made conscious of the inquiry.
“Our understanding is that the civil division opened an inquiry in August based upon the AG’s politically motivated sham report and we have heard nothing since,” he mentioned.
Justice Department spokespeople declined to remark.
The division’s civil rights division has some enforcement powers below federal anti-discrimination regulation. It launched an initiative in 2018 to battle sexual harassment of presidency staff and handles complaints made below the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Cuomo has acknowledged making feedback to some girls that made them uncomfortable, together with jokes interpreted as undesirable flirtation, however he has denied sexually harassing anybody or touching anybody inappropriately.
The Albany County sheriff filed a felony grievance in opposition to Cuomo this fall accusing him of groping a feminine aide on the governor’s mansion in late 2020. His arraignment on the cost has been postponed till at the least January whereas the county district lawyer investigates the allegations.
