Manhattan D.A. Launches Cuomo Probe After AG's Investigation

NEW YORK, NY — Prosecutors are looking into instances of alleged misconduct by Gov. Andrew Cuomo that happened in Manhattan, officials said Wednesday, furthering speculation about whether the governor may face criminal charges over allegations of sexual harassment.

The announcement by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance's office comes a day after Attorney General Letitia James released a bombshell investigation that found Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women — breaking multiple laws and creating a toxic work environment.

Though some of the alleged offenses were civil, rather than criminal, local prosecutors are free to pursue charges if they wish.

"When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan," Danny Frost, a spokesperson for Vance, said in a statement.

When our office learned yesterday that the @NewYorkStateAG investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the A.G.’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.
— Danny Frost (@realdannyfrost) August 4, 2021

James's report does not spell out which incidents happened in Manhattan. But at least one has been public for months: the allegation by ex-aide Lindsey Boylan that Cuomo kissed her without her consent at his office in Midtown.

Another was revealed in James's report: the claim by a state trooper that Cuomo ran his finger down her back while saying, "Hey you." That incident happened in an elevator at Cuomo's Midtown office.

The Manhattan D.A. is at least the third prosecutor's office to begin probing Cuomo following James's report. The Westchester County D.A. said Wednesday she would investigate Cuomo over the state trooper's assertion that the governor tried to kiss her outside his home in Mount Kisco; and the Albany County prosecutor is looking into allegations there.

To produce the 165-page investigation, attorneys spent four months interviewing 179 people, including Cuomo's current and former staffers and the governor himself.

The claims, many of them extensively corroborated, include accusations that Cuomo taunted an assault survivor with sexual innuendo, touched an assistant's breast underneath her blouse, and referred to some female employees as "mingle mamas."

A doctor who tested Cuomo for COVID-19 live on television said he harassed her; the state trooper said Cuomo quizzed her about her sex drive; and his office retaliated against at least one woman for going public, investigators found.

Read more allegations and the full report here.