NY lawmakers call for investigation of harassment accusation against Cuomo, but who would do it?

ALBANY, N.Y. – A bipartisan group of state lawmakers wants an independent investigation into allegations by a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo that he sexually harassed her from 2016 through 2018.

Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development aide, posted an essay online Wednesday that contends Cuomo kissed her on the lips during a one-on-one meeting in his office in 2018 and asked her to play strip poker.

Cuomo's office denied the claims.

Assemblyman Harry Bronson, D-Rochester, said he's a former employee rights attorney, and "I have represented far too many women who have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace."

In a statement, he said, "Now that Ms. Boylan has put these claims forward, she deserves the opportunity to have her allegations thoroughly reviewed by an independent body and any appropriate steps taken upon those findings."

Who would do an "independent" investigation?

Government watchdogs have derided New York for not having a strong independent watchdog body to investigate potential wrongdoings at the state Capitol.

When Cuomo took office in 2011, he vowed to clean up Albany in the shadow of Eliot Spitzer's resignation in 2008 for soliciting prostitutes. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics was established under Cuomo.

JCOPE has been criticized for being beholden to the political leaders who appoint its members, including Cuomo, whose former aides have long led the commission.

"All credible allegations of sexual harassment must be taken seriously and given a thorough, transparent, and independent investigation," Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the most obvious body to undertake such an investigation – JCOPE – is compromised and ineffective."

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Calls for an independent investigation of Cuomo grow

JCOPE, whose members are appointed by the governor and legislative leaders, has investigated sexual harassment allegations in Albany, levying a $330,000 fine in 2013 against Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, who died in 2015.

Other cases have languished, including allegations that former state Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx, forcibly kissed a former aide outside an Albany bar. The case was brought forward three years ago, and the agency has never made any findings public.

"New York State's total failure to have an independent ethics enforcement agency is a fundamental obstacle to government accountability," the government watchdog group Reinvent Albany wrote Wednesday on Twitter. "There are no independent, effective, ethics police in #Albany and it shows."

If not JCOPE, the state Legislature has subpoena power and could launch its own investigation into Boylan's charges.

Five Republican senators wrote a letter Wednesday to state Attorney General Letitia James asking for a formal investigation into the allegations against Cuomo.

"At a minimum, the seriousness of these allegations clearly warrant a comprehensive, immediate investigation by an independent special prosecutor," the senators wrote.

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What happens next?

There was no immediate comment from James' office about what role it could play in looking into the charges brought by Boylan.

Her role could be limited. The office has a civil rights bureau that could look into it and a public integrity unit that investigates any potential criminal wrongdoing against public officials. Yet the attorney general, though independently elected, is also the "state's attorney," representing the executive branch and state government in all lawsuits or claims.

For James' to do a full investigation, she would probably need a referral from Cuomo to investigate his office.

Cuomo knows the law all too well: He's the former attorney general and investigated the administrations of Spitzer and his successor, David Paterson, after receiving referrals from their offices.

Boylan wrote Wednesday, "Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected."

Cuomo's office said Boylan's descriptions were not true.

"As we said before, Ms. Boylan's claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false," press secretary Caitlin Girouard said in a statement.

In December, Boylan tweeted about being harassed by Cuomo, who denied the allegations.

"Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has a right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has, but it’s just not true," he said.

Zephyr Teachout, a constitutional attorney who ran against Cuomo in a Democratic primary in 2014, said the Boylan case shows that lawmakers should give the Attorney General's Office a blanket referral to investigate the executive branch.

"This story should be a spur to lawmakers: New York should give the AG's office the power to investigate and prosecute cases of sexual misconduct in government," she wrote Wednesday on Twitter. "There is no serious existing investigative agency."

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Joseph Spector is the government and politics editor for the USA TODAY Network's Atlantic Group, overseeing coverage in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. He can be reached at JSPECTOR@Gannett.com or followed on Twitter: @GannettAlbany

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NY lawmakers call for Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment accusation probe