Why is Andrew Cuomo suing Letitia James? Former New York Gov. claims SA investigation against him was “misleading”

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo filed a lawsuit on Thursday against New York Attorney General Letitia James to force her to release interview clips from the allegedly damaging s*xual misconduct investigation that led to his resignation.

Andrew resigned from his governor duties in August 2021. Investigation against the former governor began after multiple women came forward and accused Cuomo of s*xual harassmant. As per the report, he had allegedly harassed at least 11 women.

The report said,

"What these witnesses - and many others - described is not just old-fashioned, affectionate behavior, it was sexual harassment."

The 165-page report regarding his investigation found Cuomo's alleged behavior violated state and federal law, along with his policies, between 2013 and 2020. Nine of the accusers were former or current state employees, and the investigators interviewed 179 people and reviewed more than 74,000 pages of documents.

---

What does Andrew Cuomo say in his lawsuit against Letitia James?

In the lawsuit, Andrew Cuomo argued that he needed witness statements (around 180 documents) in full to defend himself against two s*xual harassment lawsuits linked to the investigation that resulted in his resignation. He also claimed that the public had the right to know James' full basis, which led to significant and impactful decisions in issuing the consequential report and causing resignation.

Andrew also denied all the allegations against him and described Letitia James' report in the lawsuit as,

"Materially inaccurate, incomplete, biased, flawed and misleading."

The lawsuit also added,

"Governor Cuomo vehemently denies having s*xually harassed anyone, and the witness statements relating to the allegations in both actions are critical to his defense."

During his resignation, Andrew Cuomo said he was "deeply" apologetic for any inappropriate behavior during his time in office. He also denied s*xual harassment allegations, as mentioned in Letitia James' investigation report.

Cuomo, while defending his behavior, said,

"I have slipped and called people 'honey, 'sweetheart' and 'darling.' I mean it to be endearing but women found it dated and offensive. I take full responsibility for my actions. I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting."

He also added that in his mind, he never crossed the line with anyone and didn't realize the extent to which the line had been redrawn. Rich Azzopardi, Andrew Cuomo's spokesperson, said on January 19 that James has "done everything she can to hide' as per New York Daily News.

Rich also added that,

"It's sad that the courts are needed to step in and order the state's top lawyer to stop violating the law."

---

The article will be updated with more details once they are available.