Ex-New York governor Andrew Cuomo sues Letitia James over access to sexual harassment files

The former New York governor Andrew Cuomo is suing the state Attorney General Letitia James and her office, hoping to force her to release witness statements from the sexual misconduct investigation that led to his resignation.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, is asking for the release of witness statements to defend himself in two sexual harassment lawsuits that “stem directly from the OAG’s investigation and report”.

A federal judge declined the request to release similar records in a separate case filed by Mr Cuomo last year, CBSreports.

In the lawsuit obtained by The Independent, Mr Cuomo alleged that “despite Respondent James’ August 3, 2021 public promise to release those materials, Respondent James has no intention of releasing those materials”.

“Governor Cuomo vehemently denies having sexually harassed anyone, and the witness statements relating to the allegations in both actions are critical to his defense,” the suit added.

He also argued that thepublic has a “right and interest” in knowing Ms James’ and the New York OAG’s work and the reasons behind why the report made their democratically elected governor resign.

New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report on Mr Cuomo back in 2020 on allegations surrounding sexual harassment

The suit claims that Ms James has “relentlessly fought against producing the requested materials, claiming undue burden, ‘sovereign immunity’ and various privileges”.

Mr Cuomo resigned in 2021 after the attorney general’s office released a damning report stating that the former governor had sexually harassed state employees and others outside of government, citing 11 women in total in the report.

The report claimed he harassed them through “unwelcome and unwanted touching”