Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing an investigation over alleged sexual harassment claims, documents show.
In response to a Freedom of Information of Act request by the New York Post , the state Comptroller’s Office released a legal services contract signed in October that said: “DOJ has also undertaken an inquiry related to sexual harassment claims made against the then Governor.”
A spokesperson for Cuomo, who has denied claims of inappropriate touching, said the investigation was opened after New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report detailing several allegations of sexual misconduct that led to his resignation.
“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,” said spokesman Rich Azzopardi.
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Cuomo’s team has been highly critical of James’s investigation ever since the attorney general released her bombshell report on Aug. 3 concluding the then-governor sexually harassed at least 11 women. Representatives for the former governor have argued the attorney general is politically motivated, citing her run for governor as evidence of ill intent.
A separate investigation opened by the New York State Assembly found Cuomo sexually harassed 12 women despite the former governor’s insistence that he never engaged in inappropriate touching.
In October, Cuomo was charged with forcible touching regarding an incident that allegedly occurred at the executive mansion in Albany, New York, which he maintained “never” happened in testimony released last month. The former governor is expected to appear in court on Jan. 7.
Cuomo has come under federal investigation before. The Justice Department under former President Donald Trump began looking into Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as governor and the alleged cover-up of deaths in nursing homes. But under President Joe Biden, the Justice Department said in July it was dropping the “cruel” civil rights inquiry into the nursing homes.
On March 25, 2020, Cuomo signed an executive order shielding nursing homes from liability when admitting patients who tested positive for COVID-`19, a policy government watchdog group the Empire Center for Public Policy found was linked to over 1,000 additional resident deaths. The then-governor rescinded the policy on May 10 of last year.
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Despite stepping down on Aug. 24, the former governor has signaled he will continue to defend his reputation against the allegation in his post-governorship, railing against James’s “unjust” report in his farewell address to the state.
The Justice Department did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
