Andrew Cuomo, the former Governor, filed a complaint against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The complaint was filed regarding state ethics according to the New York Times report. The lawsuit was filed on Jan 18 in Manhattan Supreme Court. His complaint wants to pressurize James’ office to respond to the Freedom of Information Law
Cuomo believes that attorney James has deliberately mishandled the investigation against his sexually abusing multiple government employees by not disclosing nearly 180 interviews from her 2021 investigation against him.
The Lawsuit
The 26-page lawsuit states that people have the right to know the whole truth and the records are needed for Cuomo’s defense related to two sexual harassment lawsuits that were revealed by her investigation.
He called her cynical and a manipulator for personal and political gain and used the investigation to mislead the public which led to his forceful resignation, while also calling it one-sided to affect his career when he denies having sexually harassed anyone.
The case
Cuomo, the former Democrat New York governor, has been charged with sexual misconduct allegations and had to resign from his position amidst the controversy in 2021.
He announced his resignation one week after James issued the probe which stated that he had sexually harassed nearly 11 women.
A 2021 report from the Democratic-controlled state Assembly also called the evidence against him “overwhelming,” which is a contradiction to his denial of the misconduct.
He claimed that he was absolved from the charges by the decision of five New York district attorneys, however, some of the prosecutors agreed to the credibility of the accusations.
James’ Response
She did not directly respond to the complaint, but her spokesperson Delaney Kempner addressed a July order in Federal Court where the judge denied his request to obtain the documents.
The order was given by Judge Taryn Merkl which stated that his efforts of obtaining the records was baseless as it placed a burden on James’ office over releasing the large number of documents.
In his Friday statement, Cuomo’s spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said that James’ effort to hide the documents from the public was in vain as the Daily News Editorial Board has filed a FOIL request of nearly 180 witness statements from James’ investigation, which was rejected.
The Daily News editorial, in November, had written that all the state government records were available to anyone who requested them under the state FOIL law. The act of denying goes against the law.
Cory Morris, a Long Island lawyer who had sued James once on the grounds of freedom of information said that it was “as regular as rain,” that the Freedom of Information Law was not enforced effectively.
In 2022, Cuomo filed a state ethics complaint against James regarding the investigation. The ongoing legal battle between Cuomo and James has added more complexity to the sexual harassment case against him.
