In-hiding Cuomo sics lawyers on sex accusers, claims he was ‘ambushed’ by AG James
He’s not going to go quietly.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo remained in hiding at the Executive Mansion Friday but sent out a team of lawyers to publicly attack some of the 11 women he’s accused of sexually harassing — and to claim that Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation was rigged against him.
“The governor deserves to be treated fairly and he must be,” insisted Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s personal defense lawyer in a Zoom press conference that was also broadcast on the governor’s official state website.
“That did not happen here. This was one-sided and he was ambushed.”
In a prepared statement, James’ press secretary said that “the governor, himself, requested that Attorney General James oversee an independent investigation” amid the wave of accusations against him earlier this year.
“To attack this investigation and attempt to undermine and politicize this process takes away from the bravery displayed by these women,” spokesman Fabien Levy said.
“There are 11 women whose accounts have been corroborated by a mountain of evidence. Any suggestion that attempts to undermine the credibility of these women or this investigation is unfortunate.”
During the hourlong virtual news conference, Glavin suggested there were improper ties between James and Lindsey Boylan, the former Cuomo aide whose allegations sparked the harassment scandal.
Glavin, a former US Justice Department official, cited alleged phone conversations between James’ chief of staff and a consultant who worked on Boylan’s failed campaign for Manhattan borough president, and she questioned whether investigators had looked into them.
In response, Boylan — who’s preparing to sue Cuomo — tweeted, “We will not be intimidated.”
Glavin also said that emails and other records contradicted the probe’s findings regarding the chain of events on Nov. 16, when Cuomo is accused of groping the breast of a female assistant inside the Executive Mansion in Albany.
“This woman’s story, as stated as fact in the report, is false,” Glavin said. “The documentary evidence does not support what she said.”
That accuser’s lawyer, Brian Premo, said afterward, “My client has consistently said and testified that she does not know the date.”
As The Post first reported, the woman on Thursday filed a criminal complaint with the Albany sheriff’s office.
“She never said Nov. 16 and as far as their allegation that she wasn’t there the day that happened — that’s wrong. She was there the day he did what she alleged. She will further respond in due course.”
During a Q&A session with reporters, Glavin declined to discuss allegations that Cuomo ran a finger down the spine of a female state trooper assigned to his security detail and brushed his hand across her abdomen.
“The governor will address that allegation himself,” she said. “I can’t give you a timeline but I know he wants to do it soon.”
The three-term Democrat hasn’t appeared in public since James released her 168-page report on Tuesday and instead issued a pre-recorded video statement in which he denied having “touched anyone inappropriately” and suggested the investigation was a political hit job.
But Glavin said the trooper’s assignment to Cuomo’s security detail, made at the governor’s request after he briefly met her at an event, was the result of his desire to increase gender diversity in the largely male unit.
“He liked how she maintained eye contact. He liked that she was assertive with him in the conversation,” Glavin said.
“And then he asked one of the troopers he knows about her and they said, ‘Yeah, she’s excellent.'”
Paul Fishman, a former New Jersey US Attorney who is representing the governor’s office, said that James’ office hadn’t provided Cuomo with transcripts of various witness interviews, even though they were given to the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee.
Fishman said the transcripts were apparently also being distributed to at least five district attorneys across the state who’ve launched criminal investigations based on James’ report.
No investigative materials have been supplied to any of the DAs who requested them, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Glavin said the AG’s records were needed for Cuomo to meet an Aug. 13 deadline that the committee on Thursday set for him to make his case before it begins considering articles of impeachment.
“Otherwise, to the extent that the assembly wants to move forward…with impeachment, you now have an impossible standard for us because we’re not given access to the evidence,” she said.
“We have asked them for that so that we can make an informed submission that adequately addresses the evidence and can point out areas where we believe there’s been omissions or exculpatory evidence.”
In his statement, James’ spokesman said, “There will be a rolling production of interview transcripts made available to the state Assembly, which will be redacted as needed.”
