Under Siege, Cuomo Revises Plan to Review Sex Harassment Claims
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday retreated from his plan to have a former federal judge, who has close ties to one of the governor’s closest allies, investigate claims against him of sexual harassment.
Mr. Cuomo said that he would ask Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, and Janet DiFiore, the chief judge on New York State’s highest court, to jointly pick someone to investigate sexual harassment accusations lodged by two women who worked in the Cuomo administration.
The move came amid mounting criticism over Mr. Cuomo’s initial choice of Barbara S. Jones, a former federal judge who worked with Mr. Cuomo’s longtime adviser, Steven M. Cohen, after leaving the bench.
In an effort “to avoid even the perception of a lack of independence or inference of politics,” the Cuomo administration has asked Ms. James and Judge DiFiore 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,” Beth Garvey, a special counsel to the governor, said in a statement.
