A senior aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with investigators from Attorney General Letitia James’s office as part of an inquiry into claims of sexual harassment, according to a new report.
Richard Azzopardi, a senior Cuomo adviser, is the highest-ranking member of the governor’s administration to meet with investigators from James’s office, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The governor’s senior aides, including Azzopardi, are expected to be among the last interviewed as part of the investigation, the report added.
“I cannot comment on whether or not we’ve interviewed the governor of the state of New York, but we have engaged in a number of interviews already,” James said during an unrelated press conference on Thursday, adding she “cannot speak to whether or not we’ve communicated with members of the governor’s administration.”
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Representatives for Cuomo did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment. A representative for James declined to comment.
In December, former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan accused the governor of having sexually harassed her “for years.” At least nine other women followed suit. Cuomo denies he ever engaged in inappropriate touching.
The allegations have led to two investigations. In addition to James’s query, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie directed the opening of an “impeachment investigation” in the state Legislature.
Some of Cuomo’s accusers expressed dissatisfaction with Heastie’s selection of Davis Polk & Wardwell as the firm tasked with investigating the allegations on behalf of the Assembly.
“We were alarmed to learn that Speaker Heastie has hired Davis Polk to assist with the investigation, given the connection between Dennis Glazer, who spent more than 30 years as a partner at Davis Polk, and the governor,” Debra Katz, the attorney for accuser Charlotte Bennett, said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “This is an unacceptable conflict of interest.”
Katz said the alleged connection between Dennis Glazer, who spent 31 years as a partner at Davis Polk, and the 63-year-old governor gave Bennett “pause” and called into question the legitimacy of the entire investigation.
“We already know the extent to which Gov. Cuomo has surrounded himself with people in the Executive Chamber who enabled his behavior and swept evidence of sexual harassment under the rug,” she continued. “If there is even a hint of political influence in the impeachment investigation, it will taint the entire proceedings.”
Katz noted that Glazer received appointments from Cuomo, including to the board of the State University of New York at Purchase and New York’s casino siting board, and Glazer’s wife, state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, would serve in a state Senate trial if Cuomo were impeached.
Heastie praised the law firm when announcing the Assembly’s selection.
“Hiring Davis Polk will give the Committee the experience, independence, and resources needed to handle this important investigation in a thorough and expeditious manner,” he said.
James also applauded Heastie’s investigation during Thursday’s press conference, saying she has “full faith and credit with the Assembly” while noting there has been “no communication [and] no cooperation” between the two investigations.
Boylan and Bennett have both reportedly met with investigators from James’s office.
Cuomo denied all allegations of inappropriate touching, but he did apologize for making women feel uncomfortable. The governor signed a bill authorizing funds for Heastie’s impeachment investigation, and his administration authorized James’s investigation via a referral letter from Beth Garvey, Cuomo’s counsel.
James’s investigation into claims of sexual harassment expanded last month to look into claims that a top adviser tied counties’ COVID-19 vaccine access to support for the governor, which Garvey said “malign[ed] a decadeslong public servant.”
The New York Democrat faces other scandals threatening his governorship.
The governor has been accused of directing state health officials to give special COVID-19 testing access to members of his inner circle. Azzopardi denied those claims as “insincere efforts to rewrite the past” in an email to the Washington Examiner.
The alleged use of state resources in the promotion of Cuomo’s book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic, has also attracted scrutiny from elected officials. In April, James received a referral to conduct a criminal investigation into Cuomo’s use of state resources to promote the book after a March 31 ethics complaint from a liberal watchdog group sought an inquiry into whether he violated a law prohibiting “the use of campaign funds for personal use.” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli authorized James to examine “any indictable offense or offenses,” including “the drafting, editing, sale, and promotion of the governor’s book and any related financial or business transactions.”
Cuomo insisted that members of his staff volunteered to help with the book, though his office acknowledged there might be some “incidental” use of state resources, according to the New York Times.
In addition, the Democratic governor is under federal investigation for his handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic after Melissa DeRosa, a top Cuomo aide, acknowledged that the governor’s office hid the state’s nursing home coronavirus death toll out of fear of political retribution from then-President Donald Trump.
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Facing mounting pressure from within his party to resign, Cuomo, who is eligible to seek a fourth term in office in 2022, has vowed not to step down, saying all allegations of impropriety against him are false.
