NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Amid mounting pressure Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office said it had asked New York’s attorney general and chief judge to jointly appoint an independent lawyer to investigate sexual harassment allegations against him—but Attorney General Letitia James rejected that proposal, saying she wanted nothing short of a referral by the governor for her office to handle the investigation.
Cuomo initially said he had planned to appoint former federal Judge Barbara Jones to do an outside review of the allegations made by Charlotte Bennett, the second former aide to accuse him of sexual harassment.
But the governor’s office changed course on Sunday, saying James and Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the Court of Appeals, would select an independent lawyer “without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report.”
“We will leave all decisions concerning the investigation to be made in the discretion of the independent counsel selected by the Attorney General and Chief Judge,” the governor's special counsel, Beth Garvey, said.
The administration's proposal came almost simultaneously with a statement from James calling on Cuomo to issue an executive order putting her in exclusive control of the inquiry. She said such a referral would empower to issue subpoenas, enforceable in court.
“There must be a truly independent investigation to thoroughly review these troubling allegations against the governor, and I stand ready to oversee that investigation and make any appointments necessary,” James said. "I urge the governor to make this referral immediately.”
Under state law, the state attorney general needs a referral from the governor in order to investigate his conduct.
In a subsequent statement on Sunday, James she said she would not accept anything short of a referral by the governor to her office to handle the investigation.
“To clarify, I do not accept the governor’s proposal,” James said. “The state’s Executive Law clearly gives my office the authority to investigate this matter once the governor provides a referral.”
“While I have deep respect for Chief Judge DiFiore, I am the duly elected attorney general and it is my responsibility to carry out this task, per Executive Law,” James continued. “The governor must provide this referral so an independent investigation with subpoena power can be conducted.”
A spokesperson for James called Cuomo’s idea of simply giving her a role in selecting the investigator unacceptable because that inquisitor would lack the ability to subpoena witnesses and documents, and would have to rely on voluntary cooperation.
Bipartisan calls for an independent investigation mounted after the New York Times reported Bennett’s allegations on Saturday.
Bennett, a low-level aide in the governor’s administration until November, told the Times that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she ever had sex with older men.
Another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, a former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, recently accused Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments.
Cuomo said in a statement Saturday he had intended to be a mentor for Bennett, who is 25. He has denied Boylan's allegations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.