NY GOP seeks probe of AG Letitia James over aide’s sexual harassment scandal

Republicans are pushing Democratic colleagues to investigate state Attorney General Letitia James for keeping allegations of sexual harassment against a longtime top aide under wraps ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

“The Albany swamp is as noxious as ever. 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,” said Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R-Fishkill).

James’ chief of staff Ibrahim Khan resigned last week after the law firm Littler Mendelson substantiated allegations of unwanted kissing and touching, according to the New York Times, weeks before the election.

James has yet to personally speak publicly on the resignation of Khan, though her office has claimed the incumbent Democrat followed proper procedures in dealing with Khan, whose ties to her stretch back to her time serving as New York City’s public advocate.

James’ office did not provide comment Monday.

“The Office of Attorney General has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct. 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,” AG spokeswoman Delaney Kempner previously said on the matter.

But questions remain about how James’ office hired Littler Mendelson, which employs a former assistant attorney general, as well as the extent to which James might have been aware of any other troubling behavior by Khan before recent allegations by two women.

While stopping short of joining their calls, Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay (R-Pulaski) accused James of “intentionally” hiding the accusations against Khan ahead of her shockingly close 53% to 44.5% win over unknown and largely unfunded Republican Michael Henry.

James also refused to engage in any debates with Henry ahead of the election.

The revelations mark an ironic turn for James, according to Barclay, who noted how she built her reputation last year while releasing a report about allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has denied wrongdoing.

“This cannot wait until the state Legislature reconvenes in January. The State Assembly Judiciary Committee must convene a formal investigation at once into what Attorney General James knew, when she knew it, and why that information was withheld from the public,” Assemblyman Colin Schmitt (R-New Windsor) said Sunday.

Other Republicans calling for a probe include Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Garden City) and state Sen. Thomas O’Mara (R-Elmira), who is urging colleagues in his chamber to launch a probe of their own.

“It calls into question her fitness for the job,” O’Mara said.

“Sexual harassment taking place in any government office should alarm every New Yorker,” he added.

State Senate Investigations Chair James Skoufis (D-Woodbury), reached Monday, was non-committal about probing the matter involving James and Khan. 

“The investigations committee, which has conducted far more investigations than it ever did under Republican rule, will appropriately consider every issue that comes to our attention,” Skoufis told The Post. 

“It appears the Attorney General’s Office was investigating the governor for the same offenses being committed within her own office. It’s tough to match this level of hypocrisy,” Barclay said.

In September 2017, when James was the city’s public advocate, The Post published an exclusive report about a former employee who accused Khan, James’ chief of staff at the time, of drugging and sexually assaulting her.

Angel DuBose, then 47, alleged that the incident took place during a December 2014 holiday party at the since-shuttered Woodrow’s pub in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood.

In a complaint filed with the state Division of Human Rights, DuBose accused Khan of making suggestive comments before offering her a drink, after which she went outside and later woke up in the middle of the street.

DuBose also said that she reported the alleged incident to a supervisor in January 2015 but that nothing was done and she was later fired in an act of alleged retaliation.

James’s office said at the time that DuBose was fired “for cause” and called all of her allegations “an outright lie.

“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigated DuBose’s allegations and decided not to file charges, and also said it referred her allegations to the city Department of Investigation, “which reviewed and closed this matter.”

The Post removed the article from its website because it learned DuBose had not actually identified Khan as the person who drugged and assaulted her, and said she had no memory of who the attacker was.

Cuomo’s resignation in August 2021 was foreshadowed by Republican calls for investigations, later followed by an Assembly impeachment probe, into alleged malfeasance including sexual harassment and a cover-up of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents.

Assembly Judiciary Chair Charles Lavine (D-Glen Cove) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) did not immediately provide comment Monday.

With James now feeling the heat, Republicans say they remain hopeful that colleagues across the aisle might grill her sometime soon.

“We can get the Judiciary Committee going on it. I’m sure they’re bored since the Cuomo resignation!” Ra said Monday.