Denis Slattery and Michael Gartland, New York Daily News (TNS)
NEW YORK — Attorney General Letitia James’ longtime top aide has stepped down in the wake of a sexual harassment probe, sources told The New York Daily News on Friday.
Ibrahim Khan, James’ chief of staff, resigned after the state’s top prosecutor hired a law firm to investigate a pair of allegations against him, a source with direct knowledge of the situation said.
The two allegations were brought to the attention of James’ reelection campaign one month before this year’s Nov. 8 general election. Not long after that, the attorney general’s office hired Littler Mendelson, an outside law firm that handles labor and employment litigation, to probe the matter, the source said.
One of the women was told her claims of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing were substantiated, according to The New York Times.
Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office confirmed his resignation.
“The Office of Attorney General has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct,” the spokeswoman said in a statement. “The office takes these matters with the utmost seriousness, and this situation is no different. An independent, impartial investigation was conducted, and the employee has since resigned.”
A representative for Littler Mendelson declined to comment on the situation.
Khan, 38, who is married and lives in Queens, began working for James during her 2013 run for New York City public advocate as a spokesman. He was named chief of staff during her time with the city and retained the post after James was elected attorney general in 2018.
Previously, he worked on Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential bid and served as deputy chief for staff for Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., when he was a state senator.
Last year, James’ office oversaw a sprawling investigation into sexual harassment allegations against then Gov. Andrew Cuomo that led to his resignation.
James tasked a pair of outside investigators with probing Cuomo’s alleged misconduct. A scathing report issued in August 2021 detailed allegations made against the disgraced Democrat by nearly a dozen women, including much younger staffers and a state trooper assigned to his security detail.
Cuomo, despite stepping down, denied any wrongdoing and accused James of politicizing the probe in order to advance her own career.