Attorney General Letitia James is facing criticism for dealing with sexual harassment allegations against longtime chief of staff Ibrahim Khan

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NEW YORK — Staggering charges against Attorney General Letitia James claim she handled sexual harassment allegations against a top aide far differently than her aggressive investigation of former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

The charges come from one of the women whose sexual harassment allegations led to the resignation of James’s longtime chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan.

As CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer explains, she raises many questions about how the case was handled, and others wondered why the attorney general waited until after his re-election to go public. .

READ MORE: Ibrahim Khan, Chief of Staff to Attorney General Letitia James, resigns amid sexual harassment allegations

Sofia Quintanar, 33, worked for James as an assistant press secretary until last year. She is now speaking out both as an alleged victim of sexual harassment by Khan and as a former employee who doesn’t understand how her case was handled any differently than the bureau’s sexual harassment case against Cuomo. which forced him to resign.

She accuses James of taking more care to protect Khan than the women who accused him of abuse.

“I find it just appalling how the office has handled this publicly,” Quintanar said in an interview with The New York Times. “I and the other victims deserve the same vindication that was given to the other victims she defended… It shouldn’t be any different because it happened in her house.”

Quintanar said she was referring to how James protected the 11 women she says were victimized by Cuomo.

She said Khan touched her inappropriately after a fundraiser in Brooklyn and kissed her against her wishes.

One of the problems for the attorney general is that she only disclosed the investigation into Khan last week, even though the investigation into the charges continues while she seeks re-election.

It wasn’t until Wednesday that she offered a public defense of her actions, issuing the following statement:

“First and foremost, I thank the women who have come forward, and I want to assure them that they have been heard and that I believe them.

“My office handled this case as aggressively as any other case before it. Within 24 hours, our office took disciplinary action and imposed restrictions on Ibrahim Khan, and within 72 hours, we engaged an outside law firm that began an impartial investigation and full review of the allegations Mr. Khan resigned while the process was still ongoing At the end of the process, my office interviewed each person and informed them that the allegations were founded. I am confident in the steps that have been taken to promptly review the allegations and in the integrity of the investigation.”

But the problem has continued to creep in and there are calls for an outside investigation into the matter. Governor Kathy Hochul was asked if it was unethical to hide the affair until after the election.

“I’m not going to speculate on what people think and what their motivations are. I’m just saying there’s a lot of — the situation isn’t very clear,” Hochul said.

Watch report from Marcia Kramer AG Tish James accused of shielding assistant from harassment allegations 02:56

In an interview with NY1 on Wednesday, James defended his handling of the case.

“We believe we acted appropriately and decisively,” she said.

She added: “We conducted a thorough and independent investigation without any conflict of interest or any impropriety.”

As CBS2’s Dick Brennan reports, James gave a timeline of events. She says she learned of the allegations on October 2, she restricted Khan’s access to the office on October 3, and then hired an independent law firm to investigate the allegations, which she says were later substantiated.

James did not divulge this publicly, being about a month before she was due for re-election in a time frame where she dodged debates with her opponent.

“I understand the appearance, but whenever there is an investigation, we rarely comment on the investigations. We don’t want to compromise the investigation, and it was really extremely important that we protect those involved,” James said. .

When asked why James didn’t do a criminal dismissal, she said it could still happen.

Khan resigned on Nov. 22 but says he was due out by the end of the year, unrelated to an investigation, he says, that found no misconduct.

Meanwhile, it is unclear at this stage whether an outside investigation will take place.

Democrats control both the Assembly and the Senate, but they can be pushed to do anything to show their impartiality.

Requests for investigation also come from friends of former Governor Cuomo, who believe he was not treated fairly.

Marcia Kramer

Marcia Kramer joined CBS2 in 1990 as an investigative and political reporter. Prior to CBS2, she was City Hall Bureau Chief for the New York Daily News.

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