The longtime chief of staff to New York Attorney General Letitia James resigned amid an investigation into misconduct involving at least two allegations of sexual harassment, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The former chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan, was one of the Bush ladies. James’ closest political adviser for nearly a decade. He has been accused of inappropriate touching and unwanted kisses by at least one woman. Mrs. James hired a law firm to investigate the allegations, two people familiar with the matter said.
A woman who lodged a complaint was told on Friday her allegations of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing had been substantiated.
The allegations against Mr Khan started working for Ms. James, who was the face of New York City’s Public Advocates campaign in 2013 and then became her chief of staff when she took office, is particularly sensitive to women. James is overseeing the 2021 sexual harassment investigation of New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
When Ms. James hired investigators, Mr. James’s office identified Mr. Ms. Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women over a seven-year period. James strongly disagreed with him.
“No man – no matter how powerful – is allowed to harass a woman,” she said in a statement.
gentlemen. Cuomo quickly resigned.
Friday, sir. Khan defended himself in a statement and said he planned to leave by Dec. 12. 31. Miss Mo. James’ first term. She was re-elected last month.
“I plan to leave my private sector office at the end of this year,” he said in the statement. “This is not related to an investigation that nonetheless found no official workplace misconduct,” he added. “We are proud of what we have accomplished serving New Yorkers over the past four years.”
gentlemen. Khan’s claim that the investigation found “no official workplace misconduct” could not be immediately verified, while Ms. James, a spokesman, did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
The allegations involve former employees of the office, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The office confirmed the resignation in a statement.
“The Attorney General’s Office has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegations of wrongdoing,” a spokeswoman said. “The office takes these matters very seriously, and this case was no exception. An independent, impartial investigation was conducted and the employee has resigned.”
The multiple allegations against Mr. Kahn were reported to the attorney general’s office by a political adviser, not by the victim himself, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mrs. James decided to hire an outside law firm to investigate the allegations. It was unclear when Ms. James was informed of the allegations, or when the company was hired.
In 2017, when Ms. Zhang James was the city’s public advocate and Mr. Khan was her chief of staff, and the New York Post reported that a former employee of that office had accused Mr. Khan. Khan drugged and sexually assaulted her at a holiday party.
The Washington Post reported that two investigative agencies, the Municipal Bureau of Investigation and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, had investigated and closed the case.
The article no longer appears on the Post’s website, and the former employee could not be reached for comment. A Post spokesman was not immediately available for comment when asked about the article.