Calls for a probe into state Attorney General Letitia James’ handling of harassment allegations against her chief of staff intensified Tuesday — with her former Republican challenger demanding a special prosecutor and even a veteran Democratic operative saying she should be investigated.
Lawyer Michael Henry, who James beat to win a second term on Nov. 8, said Ibrahim Khan’s accusers and the public “deserve answers and accountability” from “anyone, potentially including Letitia James, who enabled his behavior.”
“Gov. Kathy Hochul must appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Letitia James’ election time cover-up of a serious inappropriate touching and sexual harassment scandal,” Henry told The Post.
“Why didn’t she or anyone in the office call the police when at least one of the allegations included inappropriate touching? It seems her political career was more important than protecting a victim.”
Veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf also said the scandal involving Khan — who resigned on Friday — “is very damaging to the attorney general because of the time lag” before it surfaced last week.
“James didn’t debate her opponent before the election, and this could be the reason why,” Sheinkopf said.
“There should be an outside investigation of this case and how it was handled. Otherwise, people will doubt the integrity of the attorney general.”
Sheinkopf also referenced James’ own probe into the sexual harassment allegations that forced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign last year, saying the Khan scandal “should be handled the same way.”
“There needs to be an independent investigation or else we’ll lose confidence in her ability to do the job,” he said.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and said he was quitting to avoid costly impeachment proceedings that would have paralyzed state government and “brutalized people.”
John Kaehny, of the good-government group Reinvent Albany, stopped short of calling for an investigation of James but said the situation was “obviously highly ironic and disappointing.”
Kaehny also said the timeline that James’ office released Monday night didn’t contain enough information to reassure the public that she dealt with the matter properly.
That timeline showed James hired the Littler Mendelson law firm on Oct. 4 to investigate the allegations against Khan.
“Have they done an adequate job being completely transparent about everything that happened here? No,” Kaehny said.
“They should put together, while respecting the privacy of the complainants, a timeline and explanation of absolutely everything that happened and leave nothing out.”
Also Tuesday, US Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-Glens Falls), the powerful chair of the House Republican Conference, said, “New Yorkers deserve to know when Letitia James knew about her senior staff’s illegal misconduct and why she hid this egregious sexual harassment from voters until after the election.”
Outgoing state Assemblyman Mike Lawler (R-Pearl River), who last month defeated US Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-Cold Spring), also said that “James rightly held Gov. Cuomo and his administration to account for his conduct and their handling of sexual harassment allegations.”
“She should hold herself to that same standard,” he said. “The attorney general must immediately and clearly address questions as to what she knew, when she knew it, and why she withheld information that the public had a right to know.”
The comments came a day after several GOP state lawmakers called for legislative committees to investigate James, with Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R-Fishkill) saying that “New Yorkers have a right to know whether the top law enforcement officer in the state suborned sexual harassment, covered it up or delayed addressing it to win an election.”
A James spokesperson didn’t immediately return a request for comment, but her office has said that she handles all allegations of misconduct “with the utmost seriousness and this situation is no different.”
Additional reporting by Zach Williams
