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Cuomo to file complaint against AG James to attorney disciplinary panel

Governor Andrew Cuomo's office

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will file a complaint with one of the state’s disciplinary boards for attorneys against New York Attorney General Letitia James over what his attorney has framed as inconsistencies with her office’s probe into his alleged sexual misconduct.

Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s personal attorney, said Thursday that the former governor will personally file the complaint against James with one of the state’s Attorney Grievance Committees.

“The governor is personally going to make a complaint to the [Attorney Grievance Committee] that he’s going to sign, addressing what he believes to be serious ethics concerns regarding the manner of the investigation,” Glavin said.

The state’s Attorney Grievance Committees accept complaints made against attorneys in New York on matters of professional misconduct. A complaint can either be dismissed, or it can result in anything from a warning, to an order to stop practicing law.

Cuomo, through Glavin, have identified several areas of the investigation that they consider to be inconsistencies and evidence that the resulting conclusion — that the former governor sexually harassed several women — wasn’t correct.

Representatives for James have rebuffed those claims, saying that the probe included overwhelming evidence that Cuomo violated civil statutes related to sexual harassment.

Cuomo was first accused of sexual harassment about a year ago, when Lindsey Boylan, a former top economic development official in his administration, claimed that he made inappropriate comments and tried to kiss her at one point.

Several women then emerged with their own stories of inappropriate behavior involving Cuomo, from sexually-related conversations, to an incident of alleged physical groping at the Executive Mansion in Albany.

Cuomo has denied the claims, and said the investigation from James, which he initially ordered, was fueled by her political ambitions. James had a short-lived campaign for governor in the fall.

Spokespeople for James didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Cuomo’s forthcoming complaint.

Cuomo is also facing a complaint of his own before the Attorney Grievance Committee.

The Sexual Harassment Working Group, a group of former legislative staffers, filed a complaint against the former governor Tuesday, asking that he be ordered to stop practicing law in New York. Cuomo is a licensed attorney.

The timeline of either complaint is unclear, but these complaints typically aren’t resolved immediately.

Dan Clark is the host and producer of New York NOW, a weekly television show focusing on state government produced by WMHT in Albany. Clark has been reporting on New York state government and politics for the last six years, during which time he's worked out of the state Capitol in Albany. Clark reported for the national political fact-checking publication PolitiFact, the Buffalo News, the statewide political television show Capital Tonight, and most recently the New York Law Journal. At the New York Law Journal, Clark has focused on state legal challenges to President Donald Trump, as well as litigation concerning laws enacted by the New York State Legislature. Clark covered the Legislature in each role he's held and is a familiar face to state lawmakers and staff. Clark is a native of Afton, NY in Chenango County. He's lived in Albany with his husband since 2011.