By The FirstLetitia James, the New York Attorney General best known for her antagonism of former President Donald Trump, finds herself at the center of a growing sexual harassment scandal that could threaten her office.
The scandal kicked off last week when it was reported that James’ longtime Chief of Staff and close political advisor Ibrahim Khan was resigning after being accused of sexual harassment by two women. According to reports, Khan was accused of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing by at least one of the woman.
Now, James’s office is being accused of trying to cover up the scandal until after the November elections. According to reporting from the New York Post, James knew about sexual harassment allegations in early October, but chose to remain silent about them to avoid political embarrassment.
Internal documents released by Attorney General Letitia James’ office Monday night confirmed she knew about the sexual harassment allegations lobbed against a longtime top aide for more than a month before Election Day, but chose to keep it under lock-and-key before voters went to the polls.
James and her office first learned that Chief of Staff Ibrahim Khan, 38, was facing sexual harassment complaints from two women on Oct. 2 — long before New York’s Nov. 8 election date, according to the documents that provided a damning timeline into the scandal.
The day after, the attorney general’s office ordered Khan to switch to remote work and to stop communicating with coworkers and others close to James, according to the email provided by James’ Deputy General Counsel Serena Longley.
The allegations involve two former employees of the Attorney General’s office, at least one of whom is now openly accusing AG James of protecting Ibrahim Khan from fallout.
From The New York Times:
The woman, Sofia Quintanar, accused Ms. James of withholding any public finding of wrongdoing against her longtime chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan, allowing him to resign with his reputation intact.
She added that she was troubled that Ms. James’s office handled her complaint far less aggressively than it investigated harassment allegations against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
[…]
“I find it just appalling to see how the office handled this publicly,” Ms. Quintanar, 33, told The New York Times in her first public interview about her interaction with Mr. Khan. She said that she decided to come forward because she believed that Ms. James’s office took more care to protect Mr. Khan than the women who accused him of abuse.
James’ office has acknowledged the sexual harassment complaints, but have been silent about efforts to keep the allegations quiet.
“The office of attorney general has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct,” said a spokeswoman for the Attorney General. “The office takes these matters with the utmost seriousness and this situation is no different. An independent, impartial investigation was conducted, and the employee has since resigned.”
The accusations are ironic considering the New York Attorney General’s Role in taking down former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for allegations of sexual harassment.
“No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women,” James said in a statement back in August of 2021.
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