NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo has reportedly hired outside lawyers to represent the Executive Chamber amid sexual misconduct allegations against the governor.
Cuomo’s office hired Paul Fishman and Mitra Hormozi, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a statement from the law firm Arnold & Porter, where Fishman is a partner.
Fishman is a former U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and Hormozi was a special deputy chief of staff for Cuomo when he was New York attorney general.
State Attorney General Letitia James is overseeing an investigation into Cuomo’s conduct.
In Arnold & Porter's statement, also obtained by Bloomberg, the law firm said the lawyers' role "is to facilitate the Executive Chamber’s full cooperation, to represent its employees, and to provide access to all information to which the attorney general’s office is entitled."
According to the Wall Street Journal report, Fishman and Hormozi spoke with the governor’s staff on Tuesday in a conference call in which they urged employees to inform them of any concerns.
Cuomo is facing accusations of inappropriate behavior from seven women, including three former aides and a current staffer.
In a teleconference with reporters Wednesday, Cuomo said he was “not going to take any questions or have any comments on the review at this time.”
“Let the lawyers do their job, and let them conduct a review. And then we can talk about it when we have facts established, or a specific situation relative to the review,” he said. “But other than that, I’m going to respect the review, and I won’t comment on it or related matters.”
Cuomo has denied any allegations of inappropriate touching and has insisted he will not resign.
In addition to the investigation overseen by James, the state Assembly's judiciary committee last week launched an “impeachment investigation” into allegations against the governor.
On Wednesday, the Assembly announced that the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP would lead the impeachment investigation of Cuomo.
More than half of the State Legislature has called on Cuomo to resign, as has most of the New York congressional delegation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.