12 June 2021: Cuomo's Protective Detail Interviewed by Atty General Investigators

Troopers in Cuomo protective unit interviewed as part of sexual harassment probe: report

This report was published by the Albany Times-Union on 11 June 2021.

Troopers assigned to an elite unit that protects the governor are being interviewed as part of a state attorney general's investigation into sexual harassment and groping allegations that multiple women have been made against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The interviews with current and former members of the governor's Protective Services Unit indicate the investigation has crossed into a realm that is rarely pierced by outside investigations. Indeed, the members of the governor's protective unit are generally hand-selected for their abilities and expected to keep secret what they see or hear in terms of the governor's official and private dealings.

The officers selected for the detail are also required to sign non-disclosure agreements. Those agreements however do not exempt them from reporting ethical misconduct or potential criminal activities.

The attorney general's investigators have drawn that same conclusion and forged ahead with their interviews of the governor's guardians, including gathering details from their observations of the Executive Chamber's "culture," and the manner in which women have been treated or interacted with the governor and his staff. Female troopers have also been among those interviewed, the sources said.

One of the people with knowledge of the matter said that the private attorneys conducting a parallel impeachment investigation on behalf of the state Assembly's Judiciary Committee have also begun preliminary interviews with at least some current or former members of the governor's protective detail. But that probe is moving much slower than the attorney general's investigation, which is being led by attorneys Joon H. Kim and Anne L. Clark.

Kim has a deep background in criminal investigations as a former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan; Clark has extensive experience in sexual harassment cases.

The report provides a lot of background on the recent history of the governor's protective detail of state troopers, including their role scandals involving Cuomo administration officials and previous governors.