Andrew Cuomo sues Letitia James over sexual harassment investigation documents

 Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James over documents related to the 2021 investigation into alleged sexual harassment that led to her resignation.

Cuomo claims he needs about 180 documents to defend himself in two sexual harassment lawsuits, and says the public was "significant and influential in releasing the resulting report and causing his democratically elected resignation" of James. The right to know is the complete basis for decision making. Governor-elect,” the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital states.

Following the release of the investigation's findings, Cuomo resigned as governor in August 2021. The investigation began after several women came forward saying they were harassed by the governor. The report found that he had harassed at least 11 women.

The 165-page report found that Cuomo's alleged behavior violated state and federal law as well as his own policies between 2013 and 2020. Nine of those charged were former or current state employees, and investigators interviewed 179 people and reviewed more than 74,000 pages of documents. ,

"What these witnesses and many others described was not just old-fashioned, affectionate behavior, it was sexual assault," the report said.

Cuomo denied all allegations and described James's report in the lawsuit as "fundamentally inaccurate, incomplete, biased, flawed and misleading."

It says, "Governor Cuomo strongly denies sexually harassing anyone, and witness statements related to the allegations in both actions are critical to his defense."

When he resigned, Cuomo said he was "deeply" sorry for any behavior he deemed inappropriate during his tenure in office, but he denied that James was involved in an investigation into sexual harassment allegations.

Cuomo admitted to making "women and men" jokes and giving people hugs and kisses.

He added, "I've slipped up and called people 'honey,' 'sweetheart' and 'darling.' I mean it's cute but women find it outdated and insulting." "I take full responsibility for my actions. I am very familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and offensive."

"I think I've never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn't realize how far the line had been redrawn," he said. "There are some generational and cultural changes that I haven't fully appreciated. And I should, no excuses."

The criminal investigation into Cuomo's behavior ended without any criminal charges because prosecutors said that although they found the accusers credible, there was insufficient evidence.

Fox News Digital has contacted James' office for comment.

According to the New York Daily News, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said Friday that James "made every effort" to hide the documents from New Yorkers, adding that it was "regretful that the courts needed to step in and issue an order." "The state's top lawyer should stop violating the law."