Congresswoman Tenney Leads Letter Demanding Accountability for New York Attorney General Letitia James

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today sent a letter to New York Governor Kathy Hochul calling on her to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of sexual harassment within New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office. Tenney was joined by Republican Conference Chair Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and Congressman Chris Jacobs.

On December 2, 2022, the New York Times reported that Ms. James’s longtime Chief of Staff, Ibrahim Khan, resigned due to at least two sexual harassment allegations against him. This comes after allegations leveled in 2017 that Mr. Khan had drugged and sexually assaulted a coworker at a December 2014 holiday party.

This long track record of inappropriate and possibly criminal behavior over many years brings into question Ms. James’s claim that she was not aware previously of Mr. Khan’s conduct. It is also concerning that Ms. James hired a law firm, Littler Mendelson, to which she has a personal connection, to perform an audit on her office. In addition, unlike her investigation into disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, Ms. James refused to vet the Littler Mendelson contract with Comptroller DiNapoli.

“Letitia James is the most partisan Attorney General in the nation, and she has lost the public’s trust. Unfortunately for the people of New York, she is not above Albany Democrats’ rampant culture of corruption, and instead she is proving to be just another part of it,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “To restore public trust in this important office, it is imperative that Governor Hochul immediately appoint an independent Special Counsel to probe the culture of sexual harassment in Attorney General James’s office as well as her efforts over the years to conceal it from the public. Governor Hochul told New Yorkers she would put an end to Albany’s culture of sexual harassment and corruption. If she truly means what she says, now would be an excellent opportunity for her to prove it to New Yorkers.”

"Letitia James is not above the law. She clearly mishandled her senior staff’s illegal misconduct and lied to New Yorkers to protect herself before the election,” said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. “We must have a Special Prosecutor to ensure justice, so New Yorkers can know the truth about why she hid this egregious sexual harassment from voters until after the election. This independent investigation is imperative, so Far Left Albany Democrats can no longer cover up to protect their own, just as they did with Cuomo's deadly nursing home order and criminal coverup that cost 15,000 lives, his scam book at taxpayers’ expense, and Hochul’s complicity. I will continue to work to shine a light on and root out Albany corruption on behalf of hardworking New York families.”

The full text of the letter is available here.

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