A spokesman for Andrew Cuomo is slamming New York Attorney General Letitia James after the former governor was charged with a misdemeanor sex crime.
Cuomo, in a filing from the office of Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, is accused of groping a woman under her blouse.
The statement from Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi was posted on Cuomo’s Twitter account on Friday. He singled out both James and Apple.
"Law and politics are totally separate and this is a toxic intersection of the two," the statement read. "Tish James used her office to attack the governor for her own political benefit and she violated the law in the process.
"Sheriff Apple, who has been a political opponent of the governor's … is seeking headlines and not justice and his misconduct is undeniable.
"In August, Craig Apple publicly credited Tish James’ report as evidence to pronounce the governor guilty of an allegation he had not yet investigated.
"Now, as she prepares to announce her gubernatorial run, Tish James returned the favor, using Sheriff Apple’s conveniently time move to validate her sham report – her politics is validating politics, what’s missing in fact and the law."
He said Apple had filed "misdemeanor charges" against Cuomo without notification or authorization from the district attorney or the complainant.
"It seemed the only person who was notified, and had a statement ready to go, was Tish James. New Yorkers aren’t stupid and none of this passes the laugh test. This isn’t the wild west. The abuse of power and misconduct demonstrated by this cowboy sheriff and AG James is transparent and it has to stop."
Cuomo stepped down as governor in August after an investigation detailed in a 168-page report found he had sexually harassed 11 women, Reuters noted.
James had said the probe revealed that Cuomo had engaged in conduct that violated multiple federal and state laws.
Her office did not bring any criminal charges, but local prosecutors in several counties, including Albany, said they were looking into the matter and asked for evidence from the independent inquiry, according to Reuters.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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