No timeline

N.Y. attorney general offers no timeline for Cuomo probe

By BILL MAHONEY

New York state Attorney General Letitia James is not offering a timeline for the conclusion of her investigation into an array of allegations made against Gov. Andrew Cuomo, including multiple accusations of sexual harassment.

“I cannot give you a date on when it will be concluded,” she said. “It will conclude when it concludes.”

The attorney general opened her inquiry after several women accused Cuomo of sexual harassment beginning in February.

James was in Albany on Thursday to announce a crackdown on alleged drug traffickers who appear to be behind much of the violence in the city in recent months. It was the first time she has taken questions from the Capitol press since she launched her probe into Cuomo earlier this year.

She was asked if she would rule out a run for governor in 2022, when Cuomo, a fellow Democrat, could be running for a fourth term. New York does not have term limits for governors.

“The politics stops at the door of the office of attorney general," she said. "I’m here to follow the law, I’m here to use the law as a sword and a shield and to defend our democracy. That’s what I do each and every day on behalf of the residents of the state of New York."

Cuomo is also facing an investigation by the state Assembly's Judiciary Committee, which has begun to look into articles of impeachment based on some of the same allegations James is probing. James said she had “full faith” in that investigation, but added that she has not coordinated with the Assembly's investigators. “No, we don’t share information," she said. "That is a separate investigation by the Assembly.”

She also said there has been “no coordination, no communication” with federal investigators who are also looking into Cuomo's administration.