New York governor Andrew Cuomo has asked the state’s attorney general and chief appeals court judge to jointly appoint an independent lawyer to investigate claims that he sexually harassed at least two women who worked for him.
The move came after legislative leaders assailed Mr Cuomo’s plan to appoint a retired federal judge to conduct the probe.
“The governor’s office wants a review of the sexual harassment claims made against the governor to be done in a manner beyond reproach,” Beth Garvey, special counsel to the governor, said.
“We had selected former federal judge Barbara Jones, with a stellar record for qualifications and integrity, but we want to avoid even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics.”
Garvey said the Democratic governor’s administration has asked attorney general Letitia James and Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the court of appeals, “to jointly select an independent and qualified lawyer in private practice without political affiliation to conduct a thorough review of the matter and issue a public report”.
Ms Garvey said the report “will be solely controlled by that independent lawyer personally selected by the attorney general and chief judge”.
Charlotte Bennett, an aide in the governor’s administration until November, told The New York Times on Saturday that Mr 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 Mr Cuomo of subjecting her to an unwanted kiss and inappropriate comments.
Mr Cuomo said in a statement Saturday he had intended to be a mentor for Ms Bennett, who is 25. He has denied Ms Boylan’s allegations.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here