Ibrahim Khan, chief of staff for New York Attorney General Letitia James, resigned in disgrace Friday amid an investigation into sexual harassment allegations, the Daily Wire reported. This comes a little more than a year after former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned amid his own sexual misconduct scandal.
The investigation came after Khan was accused of "inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing by at least one woman." Khan has been an advisor to James since 2013.
"The office of attorney general has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct," a spokeswoman for James said. "The office takes these matters with the utmost seriousness and this situation is no different," she claimed.
"An independent, impartial investigation was conducted, and the employee has since resigned," the attorney general's office added. This is not the first time James' office has had to investigate one of its own.
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 amid allegations by at least 11 women of sexual misconduct, the Associated Press reported. Democrats, including President Joe Biden, stood behind the New York politician despite the impact on the accusers.
"From the beginning, I simply asked that the governor stop his abusive behavior," Cuomo accuser Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to step forward, tweeted at the time. "It became abundantly clear he was unable to do that, instead attacking and blaming victims until the end."
The only charge that was filed against Cuomo by James' office was ultimately dismissed, according to CNN. In her bid for re-election, James attempted to spin the scandal as a political witch hunt against her.
"Once again, powerful and corrupt men have taken over the headlines, friend," a fundraising message for James reportedly said, according to Politico. She did not name Cuomo or former President Donald Trump, whom she also publicly sparred with, but the implication was clear.
"But I'm not surprised. Ever since I took my oath as your attorney general and swore to do everything in my power to finally bring the most corrupt actors to justice, they have worked tirelessly to take me down," James complained.
Besides shielding Cuomo, James also made a name for herself by doggedly pursuing former Trump for anything she thought might stick. She went after the Trump organization as well as his children, even looping in the Internal Revenue Service, Fox News reported.
Trump struck back at James, whom he accused of not doing enough about crime in the state while attempting to destroy him. He called New York "one of the most crime-ridden places on earth with murders, robberies, drug deals, and every other form of crime setting records on a weekly basis" and pointed to her as one of the culprits.
The former president recently sued James, whom he claimed would "look for ways to recklessly injure" him. Trump claimed her "vitriolic and obsessive pursuit" fueled her conduct that was out of line "for a state attorney general."
"Today, I filed a lawsuit in Florida State Circuit Court against the corrupt Attorney General of New York State, Letitia' Peekaboo' James," Trump wrote in a statement to donors on Nov. 2. "Crooked and highly partisan James now thinks it is the business of the state of New York to go after my revocable trust and pry into my private estate plan, only to look for ways to recklessly injure me, my family, my businesses, and my tens of millions of supporters," he claimed.
James is supposed to be at the highest echelons of law enforcement in her state. However, she managed to simultaneously use her office to pursue a political enemy while disgraceful misconduct was allegedly happening right under her nose.
