Calls for an independent investigation into sexual harassment charges against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo escalated on Sunday, prompting the powerful Democrat to agree not to appoint himself who will be in charge of the investigations .
Read also: The governor of New York accused of sexual harassment by a second woman
Several personalities, including the young Democratic star of the Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or the senator of Hawaii Mazie Hirono, estimated this Sunday morning that the investigation into the actions of the governor should be carried out by the prosecutor of the State, Letitia James, and not by a former federal judge that Andrew Cuomo himself had appointed on Saturday.
The prosecutor - who many think she could run for governor in the next election scheduled for the end of 2022 - also intervened, to ask Andrew Cuomo - who must give her permission - to give her the file "
immediately
".
In a statement, a legal advisor to the governor said that the latter, in state power for 10 years, agreed to go back - without entrusting the investigation directly to Letitia James.
"
We want to avoid even the impression of a lack of independence and political interference
," said Councilor Beth Garvey.
“
So we asked the state prosecutor and the chief judge of the appeals courts to jointly select an independent, private lawyer, without political affiliation.
The governor's office said it would "no
longer comment until the report is submitted
" of the investigation.
"
An independent review of the allegations
"
But Andrew Cuomo, 63, who was a star in 2020 for his management of the pandemic, now seems very fragile and this concession may not be enough to calm the game. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ruled this Sunday the accusations concerning him "
extremely serious and difficult to read
”.
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki also called for "
an independent review of the allegations
."
She recalled that President Joe Biden - who has known Andrew Cuomo for a long time - "
believes that every woman should be listened to, should be treated with respect and dignity
".
Two women have accused the governor of sexual harassment in recent days, accusations he has formally denied.
One of his former economic advisers, Lindsey Boylan, 36, accused him in detail on Wednesday, on a blog, of having sexually harassed her when she worked for his administration, from 2015 to 2018. She claimed that the the governor had kissed her on the mouth unsolicited, suggested that she play
strip poker
with him
and "make every
effort to touch (him) his back, arms, legs
".
On Saturday, it was 25-year-old former health adviser Charlotte Bennett who told the
New York Times
that the governor had made advances to her in the spring of 2020.
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