New York AG Letitia James sued by former aide who claims she covered for chief of staff of ten years

A former aide is suing New York Attorney General Letitia James claiming that her office covered for her former chief of staff who ‘forcibly ‘stuck his tongue down her throat’ at a 2021 fundraiser.

James has publicly backed Ibrahim Khan’s accusers but ex-staffer Sofia Quintanar, 33, alleges the AG looked the other way while he sexually harassed her and other women.

Quintanar claims that Khan – who served James as chief of staff for a decade – was said to be ‘on vacation or with a sick relative’ when he was in fact suspended pending investigation.

Khan, who has been a top advisor to James for nearly a decade, stepped down amid the probe, which comes a year after her investigation into harassment allegations against then-Governor Andrew Cuomo resulted in his resignation. 

He was allowed to resign on November 22 – before the investigation ended – and is still being paid through the end of the year. 

Sofia Quintanar, 33 alleges James looked the other way with Ibrahim Khan, saying that the attorney general would lie about his whereabouts while serving a suspension for his behavio

Ibrahim Khan, who has been a top advisor to New York AG Letitia James for nearly a decade, stepped down amid an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct

Quintanar claims that Khan – who served James as chief of staff for a decade – was said by James’ office to be ‘on vacation or with a sick relative’ during a suspension pending investigation 

Quintanar specifically alleges that Khan ‘forcefully shoved his tongue down her throat at a political fundraiser in Brooklyn’ on November 17, 2021, during James’ brief run for governor of New York. 

The suit is for unspecified damages and includes James’ office and campaign in accusations of negligence, discrimination and retaliation. 

It also accuses James of allowing a press officer to quit ‘under similar circumstances’ in 2019. 

Quintanar worked as deputy press secretary for James in 2020, leaving to work on Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s write-in re-election campaign in the summer of 2021.

She was looking for a new job towards the end of the campaign, which led to her attending the fundraiser where Khan allegedly assaulted her.  

The suit says that Khan initially bought her and a friend drinks before luring her outside, claiming it was too loud indoors, when he ‘rested the weight of his hand on Quintanar’s shoulder, and shoved his face forward aggressively to kiss her, without saying a word.’ 

Then, he ‘stuck his tongue down her throat, still holding her shoulder.’ 

The suit alleges Khan then tried to kiss Quintanar again – before she backed away, asking him: ‘Aren’t you married?’, ‘Don’t you have kids?’ and ‘What are you doing?’ 

Quintanar alleged that Khan ‘continued to follow’ her and her friend until she left.

In a statement, she said: ‘While I fear the effect that this might have on my career, I know that fear should never stand in the way of doing what is right. I hope I can give other survivors the courage to find their voice and hold those in positions of power responsible for their actions when they demonstrate the belief that they are above the law.’ 

The complaints were filed prior to James’ successful re-election bid for attorney general, according to the New York Post.  

Quintanar worked as deputy press secretary for James in 2020, leaving to work on Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s write-in re-election campaign in the summer of 2021

The suit says that Khan initially bought her and a friend drinks before luring her outside, claiming it was too loud indoors, when he ‘rested the weight of his hand on Quintanar’s shoulder, and shoved his face forward aggressively to kiss her, without saying a word’

The investigation into Khan covered at least two women’s sexual harassment allegations, one of which included claims of unwanted kissing and inappropriate touching, the New York Times first reported. 

Khan defended himself in a statement to the Times, claiming the allegations were found to be unsubstantiated, and saying he was stepping down for unrelated reasons. 

A spokesperson for James confirmed Khan’s resignation following an investigation into ‘misconduct’ in a statement to DailyMail.com, but declined to comment on the allegations or the findings of the probe.

James later spoke to NY1 about the allegations: ‘I’m angry. I’m angry because he was my chief of staff for ten years. Deeply disappointed in him. And there is no excuse for his behavior at all. None whatsoever. I believe these women.’ 

She said that the allegations surfaced in October, which is the last time she recalled speaking to Khan. 

However, Khan had previously been accused of forcibly kissing a woman at a bar in 2014, when James was public advocate. 

James claimed the allegation did not get to her until 2017 and that they passed it over to officials, who found the allegations were ‘unsubstantiated.’

She claimed to not know why the allegation did not come to her sooner. 

A spokesman for James said of the suit: ‘We took the allegations brought to our office seriously and engaged in decisive, prompt, and appropriate action.’ 

New York’s top Democrats have defended James, with Mayor Eric Adams saying last week: ‘I don’t think I know a better advocate for women than Tish James. Tish James is a real voice for women in leadership. And I think she is extremely capable of investigating.’

Governor Kathy Hochul believes James followed proper procedure, telling NY1: ‘We must be clear in condemning sexual harassment wherever it arises. There needs to be accountability. And it’s my understanding that steps were taken for that.’ 

The allegations are particularly delicate for James following her high-profile investigation of similar claims against Cuomo.

Her August 2021 report concluded the Democrat had engaged in unwanted groping, kissing and sexual comments. Cuomo denied touching anyone inappropriately.

The allegations are particularly delicate for James following her high-profile investigation of similar sexual misconduct claims against Andrew Cuomo

Khan has been a top aide to James since her days as New York City’s Public Advocate nearly a decade ago.

He was her campaign manager for her successful run for state attorney general in 2018, and then joined her office as chief of staff. 

James, who abandoned a short-lived run for New York governor in favor of seeking another term as top state prosecutor, was reelected last month and will begin her second term on January 1.  

Asked about Khan’s resignation on Friday, a spokesperson for James said: ‘The Office of Attorney General has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct.’

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James’ August 2021 report concluded then-Governor Cuomo had engaged in unwanted groping, kissing and sexual comments. Cuomo denied touching anyone inappropriately

‘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,’ the statement added.

Khan did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but insisted in a statement to the Times that his departure was unrelated to the misconduct probe.

‘I’ve been slated to leave the office for the private sector at the end of this year,’ he said in the statement, claiming his departure was tied to the end of James’ first term. 

‘This is unrelated to an investigation which, nevertheless, found no official workplace misconduct,’ adding he ‘is proud of all we have achieved over these past four years in serving New Yorkers.’ 

Khan’s claim that the probe did not substantiate the allegations could not be immediately confirmed, and the OAG’s office declined to describe the findings when asked.

One of the female accusers told the Times that she was told Friday that her allegation of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing had been substantiated.

A person familiar with the matter told DailyMail.com that the incidents in question took place more than a year ago, but were only brought to the attention of the attorney general’s office in recent weeks.

The source said that women making the claims were not employees of the Office of Attorney General at the time of the alleged misconduct.

The person said that none of the allegations were delivered directly to the attorney general’s office by the women involved, but rather were passed though a series of ‘political consultants’ akin to a game of ‘telephone’.

Once the allegations surfaced, an outside law firm was brought in to conduct an independent investigation.

The ‘substantive portion’ of the investigation is already concluded, according to the source, who declined to comment on any findings that emerged.