At the end of June, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, (D-NY) suspiciously halted an investigation into New York Attorney General Cy Vance Jr’s potential mishandling of 2015 sexual misconduct claims against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein only days after Weinstein’s lawyers donated $25,000 to Cuomo.
“On June 26, Cuomo’s office sent Attorney General Barbara Underwood a letter calling for a six-month pause in the investigation so that it would not hamper Vance’s prosecution of Weinstein on sexual assault charges stemming from allegations that came to light in 2017 in the New York Times and the New Yorker,” according to BuzzFeed.
According to Capital & Main, law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner sent a $25,000 donation to Cuomo dated June 20. The same law firm represents Weinstein.
The complainants allege that Weinstein’s abuse occurred in 2015, and that the Attorney General’s office mishandled their complaints, allowing Weinstein to skate.
The pretext for halting the investigation is so that it does not interfere with Weinstein’s upcoming trial for rape stemming from allegations made during the #MeToo movement according to Amy Spitalnick, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office.
The #MeToo allegations were made well after the original complaints against Weinstein from 2015.
“Upon receiving a referral from the Governor, this spring the Attorney General’s Office commenced an inquiry into the handling of recent sexual assault investigations conducted by the Manhattan DA and the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit,” Spitalnick told BuzzFeed. “This summer, pursuant to the Governor’s office, we temporarily suspended our inquiry to avoid any interference with the District Attorney’s ongoing prosecution of Harvey Weinstein. We remain committed to conducting a comprehensive, fair, and independent review.”
But Attorney General Vance is close with Weinstein’s lawyers too.
“Attorney David Boies, the partner in the firm who oversaw Weinstein’s defense, has been near the center of the investigation into Vance’s handling of the Weinstein case from the start,” said BuzzFeed. “Months after Vance dropped the 2015 case against his then-client, Boies donated $10,000 to the Manhattan DA’s campaign fund, a contribution that fueled the calls for an investigation into Vance.”
The district attorney’s office has assured the public that the investigation into Vance’s handling of the 2015 complaints will be re-opened at the proper time.