Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s arraignment over sexual assault charges was postponed Friday until January after the Albany County district attorney said the complaint was "potentially defective."
"We were in the middle of [our] investigation when the Sheriff unilaterally and inexplicably filed a complaint in this Court," David Soares said in a letter to Judge Holly Trexler of Albany's City Court.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple last week said Cuomo forcibly touched a former executive assistant during an encounter last year at the Executive Mansion. A summons was issued to Cuomo to appear on Nov. 17.
The "speedy trial clock" began ticking, said Soares, "the day the sheriff filed the charges," meaning his office would need to finish its probe and be ready for court within 90 days or risk dismissal of the charges.
"Therefore, in order to reduce the risk of a procedural dismissal of this case, and with the understanding that the defendant is in agreement, the People are asking for an adjournment ... to give my office time to continue with our independent and unbiased review of the facts in this case," Soares wrote.
Cuomo has denied the charges.
Cecilia Walsh, director of communications for Soares' office, confirmed the matter would be adjourned by the court until Jan. 7 "at the request of the parties," but she declined to comment further.
Apple, at an Oct. 29 press conference, said his office would have "liked to have presented everything, sat down with the DA, and explained exactly what we had."
"I would have also, out of courtesy, liked to have reached out to [Cuomo attorney Rita] Glavin and explained what we had and what the next process would be, but again, things change, and it doesn't always work out as planned."
Cuomo is now scheduled to appear on Jan. 7.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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