Embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo will cooperate with a state Assembly probe as it moves toward likely impeachment proceedings in his sexual harassment scandal, a spokesman …
Embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo will cooperate with a state Assembly probe as it moves toward likely impeachment proceedings in his sexual harassment scandal, a spokesman said Thursday — as a lawyer for his administration pushed back on allegations that their retaliation against the first woman to speak up was “impermissible.” “The Assembly has said it is doing a full and thorough review of the complaints and has offered the Governor and his team an opportunity to present facts and their perspective,” said top Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi in a statement. “The Governor appreciates the opportunity. We will be cooperating.” Earlier Thursday, Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) published a letter sent to Cuomo’s counsel, asking that they provide statements and evidence in the governor’s defense no later than 5 p.m. on Aug.13 as the body mulls formal articles of impeachment. In a blistering official report issued Tuesday, independent investigators retained by state Attorney General Letitia James wrote that they’d determined Cuomo,63, had sexually harassed to varying degrees 11 women, in violation of state and local law. Cuomo has strongly denied inappropriately touching anyone. The report also detailed alleged efforts by those close to the governor to retaliate against former state staffer Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to go public with her allegations of harassment. In a separate Thursday statement issued through Cuomo’s office, Paul Fishman, outside counsel for the governor’s executive chamber, groused that the investigators relegated his team’s response to the retaliation allegation to a footnote in the report. “One of the report’s many errors is its conclusion that the Executive Chamber impermissibly retaliated when it responded to Lindsey Boylan’s allegations,” said Fishman.
