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Judge blocks Andrew Cuomo’s latest attempt to get investigation docs
By
Jon Campbell
Published Jul 23, 2023
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By
Jon Campbell
Published Jul 23, 2023
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A federal judge blocked former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attempt to obtain documents related to a pair of investigations that helped force his resignation from office in 2021, dealing a blow to the Democrat as he continues to try to discredit his accusers.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl ruled Friday evening that both state Attorney General Letitia James and the Assembly’s judiciary committee had reason to avoid handing over a bevy of interview memos and unpublished documents related to their separate investigations into Cuomo, both of which concluded he harassed a number of women, including state employees.
The former governor’s legal team tried to subpoena James’ office and the Assembly committee in connection with a civil lawsuit filed by a state trooper (known as Trooper 1), who claims Cuomo harassed her — kissing her on the face, touching her back and making inappropriate comments — after he had her promoted to his protective detail.
Cuomo’s lawyers argued that they needed the documents to assess whether the investigations, which are cited in the trooper’s lawsuit, were truly “independent and exhaustive.” The former governor denies harassing the trooper or the other women detailed in the investigations.
But Merkl ruled that Cuomo’s wide-ranging demand in particular — which would have required James’ office to produce tens of thousands of pages of documents — was too broad and not directly relevant to the civil case.
“[Cuomo’s] claim that he needs the documents to test the investigations is unavailing,” Merkl wrote. “Whether the investigations were “independent and exhaustive” is not a question that the Trooper 1 jury will need to decide.”
In the case of the Assembly, Merkl said the committee correctly asserted “legislative privilege,” a legal concept that protects lawmakers against subpoenas for potential evidence related to “actions within the scope of legitimate legislative activity.”
Since Cuomo’s resignation in August 2021, he and his legal team have been trying to force James and the Assembly to release a wide range of notes and investigative materials related to their respective probes of his office.
James released her office’s 165-page report 10 days prior to Cuomo’s resignation. It concluded he sexually harassed 11 women — including Trooper 1 and eight other current or former state employees — in violation of state and federal law. The investigation was led by private attorneys Joon Kim and Anne Clark.
Although the Assembly’s report wasn’t released until November 2021 — after Cuomo resigned — its looming presence played into his decision to step down. The investigation was launched to help determine whether lawmakers would impeach Cuomo, and that proceeding was accelerated following the release of the AG’s investigation.
James’ office has released transcripts and hours of recorded interviews with some of the key players in Kim and Clark’s investigation, including the former governor, the women who accused him of harassment and top members of his staff.
In court papers, her office argued the mass release of interview memos, investigative notes and other unpublished records could expose anonymous witnesses and have a chilling effect on future investigations.
Rich Azzopardi, a Cuomo spokesperson, accused James of having something to hide.
“The AG is hiding something and this court decision, while making it unnecessarily difficult, ultimately won’t stop us from uncovering the truth,” he said in a statement.
James’ office declined to comment, referring to Merkl’s decision.
Tagged
new york state
Politics
andrew cuomo
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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