Four New York DAs looking into allegations against Cuomo

Four New York district attorneys are looking into allegations made against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) in Tuesday’s bombshell report from the state attorney general’s office, which found that the governor sexually harassed nearly a dozen women.

The district attorneys in Manhattan, Nassau County, Westchester County and Albany County have all asked New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) for information pertaining to allegations that occurred in their jurisdictions.

The prosecutors in Nassau County and Albany County both said they will investigate the claims.

The 168-page report from James’s office found that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, some of whom worked in his office, and violated state and federal laws. The investigation also revealed that Cuomo and his aides retaliated against a former employee who came forward with accusations.

Cuomo is refusing to resign, despite calls from President Biden and the entire New York congressional delegation for him to step down. The governor contends he never treated anyone inappropriately.

Danny Frost, a spokesperson for the Manhattan district attorney, said the DA’s office contacted James’s office to “begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.”

When our office learned yesterday that the @NewYorkStateAG investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the A.G.’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.

— Danny Frost (@realdannyfrost) August 4, 2021

The Manhattan office requested records pertaining to two of the individuals who were sexually harassed by Cuomo, referred to as “State Trooper #1” and “State Entity Employee #1” in James’s report, to “properly investigative these potential sex crimes,” according to a letter from Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office to James’s office.

Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said in a statement that her office will “thoroughly and expeditiously investigate any potential crimes” committed by Cuomo in her jurisdiction. She said her office has asked James for records related to any incidents in her region, and is reviewing the “deeply disturbing” findings from the report.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocha sent a letter to James on Wednesday requesting investigative materials related to the allegations made by a state trooper assigned to Cuomo’s protective detail, referred to in the report as “Trooper #1,” who said the governor sexually harassed her while in Westchester. Rocha also asked for other information related to potential incidents that occurred in her county.

A spokesperson for Rocha told The Hill that the office has not opened an investigation into the allegations made against Cuomo.

In the letter to James, Rocha said that “while the report found that Governor Cuomo’s actions violated state and federal civil statutes, I believe it is appropriate for my Office to conduct a further inquiry to determine if any of the reported conduct that is alleged to have occurred in Westchester County is criminal in nature.”

Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced on Tuesday that his office is carrying out an ongoing criminal investigation into Cuomo. He said his office “will be formally requesting investigative materials obtained by the AG’s Office, and we welcome any victim to contact our office with additional information.”

Comment from Albany County District Attorney David Soares Regarding NYS Attorney General Final Report on Governor Cuomo ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aSVBNzhebf

— Albany County District Attorney’s Office (@AlbanyCountyDA) August 3, 2021

The Hill reached out to Cuomo’s office for comment.