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Mayor Eric Adams backed state Attorney General Letitia James’ reelection bid Sunday — less than two weeks after he dined with disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned on the heels of James’ monumental sexual harassment probe.
“Attorney General Letitia James has distinguished herself nationally through her successful fights for justice, but she never lost the get stuff done attitude that embodies her hometown Brooklyn,” said Adams in a statement distributed by James’ campaign.
“She has the courage and experience to stand up to anyone who breaks the law and harms vulnerable people, no matter how powerful they may be,” he added. “I am proud to endorse Attorney General James for re-election and urge all New Yorkers to join me [in] supporting our champion for justice.”
James, a former gubernatorial candidate who was elected the state’s top prosecutor in 2018, welcomed Adams’ support.
“I am running for re-election to finish the job I started, and I am proud to earn the support of Mayor Eric Adams,” she said. “Together, we can build a more just society where everyone must play by the same rules, and no one lives beyond the protective shade of justice.”
James announced her run for governor in late October but dropped out of the race soon after amid fundraising struggles — opting to instead seek reelection.
In turn, major contenders who threw their hats in the ring for the attorney general Democratic primary following James’ entry into the gubernatorial race bowed out of the AG contest, clearing the field for James.
Adams’ endorsement in the uncompetitive race follows his two-hour dinner with Cuomo at Midtown restaurant Osteria La Baia on Feb. 1 — first reported by Page Six.
Despite the numerous sexual harassment allegations against the scandal-scarred former governor, Adams defended the get together, claiming he would be “foolish” not to hear from former elected officials like Cuomo and saying the ex-gov dispensed “creative ideas on how to get businesses back up and operating.”
The 11 sexual-harassment allegations against Cuomo — including from a state trooper who was assigned to his protective detail — were outlined in James’ office’s bombshell investigation that forced him to step down in August under threat of impeachment.
In recent months, Cuomo has repeatedly sent his lawyer to grouse about the supposed inaccuracies and unfairness within the report.
On Thursday, Cuomo defense lawyer Rita Glavin said Cuomo “is going to personally make a complaint” alleging attorney misconduct by James and the lawyers she hired to investigate him. The potential complaint will involve what Glavin labeled “clear evidence of perjury and witness tampering” that she said was “based on the limited evidence uncovered to date” and “could expand as more evidence is uncovered.”
A James spokesperson shot back, “For months, Andrew Cuomo has been hiding behind his campaign lawyer and falsely crying ‘witch hunt’ despite previously admitting to this misconduct multiple times.”
“If he thinks he has a real legal case, he should go ahead and file it,” the spokesperson added. “These attacks are disgraceful and yet another desperate charade to mask the truth: Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser.”
Also Thursday, Glavin said Cuomo will speak publicly “relatively soon” about the sexual harassment scandal and doesn’t plan to “just move on” from it.
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