On Saturday in Albany, Governor Andrew Cuomo will face tough questions from investigators for the first time. Multiple women have accused the governor of sexual harassment, including several who have worked for him.
Attorney General Letitia James launched the investigation earlier this year, hiring a former federal prosecutor and an employment lawyer to conduct the inquiry.
Experts say the fact the Cuomo is now being interviewed could be a sign the investigation is wrapping up.
“It would seem likely that at least a substantial portion of the investigation has been completed," said former prosecutor Josh Colangelo-Bryan. "Of course, there are no guarantees.”
At an unrelated event, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul was asked about the governor’s meeting with investigators.
“I’m not in a position to speculate on whether it’s near the end," she said. "The attorney general has been conducting this investigation completely independently.”
The interview is also significant because Cuomo has offered vastly different accounts to explain his behavior. Initially, he apologized if his actions had ever made anyone uncomfortable, but that soon morphed into him flatly denying the accounts of what allegedly took place. More recently, his staff has been attacking James on social media, and challenging the integrity of the investigation itself.
In a statement, Debra Katz, an attorney for Charlotte Bennett who has accused Cuomo of harassment, said, “Realizing his admission was insufficient to quell the public’s growing calls for accountability, he has since resorted to belligerent lies and a Trumpian refusal to stick to a single set of facts.”
Experts say they expect Saturday’s interview to be in person.
“This kind of interview, or perhaps deposition, which this may be given that the private lawyers have been deputized by the attorney general and given the power to issue subpoenas, that sort of interaction would happen in person,” Colangelo-Bryan said.
Hochul declined to comment on what she thinks this means for Cuomo’s political future. He is up for re-election next year.
“I think it’s all very speculative," she said. "We are on the throes of an investigation, there are multiple investigations, and it’s still too early in the process to make any conclusions about political viability.”
Other than attempting to undermine James’ credibility on Twitter, Cuomo’s top aides have not made any details available about the timing of the interview, or exactly where it will take place.