Judge blocks Andrew Cuomo’s latest attempt to get investigation docs

A federal judge blocked former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attempt to obtain documents related to a pair of investigations that helped force his resignation from office in 2021, dealing a blow to the Democrat as he continues to try to discredit his accusers.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Taryn Merkl ruled Friday evening that both state Attorney General Letitia James and the Assembly’s judiciary committee had reason to avoid handing over a bevy of interview memos and unpublished documents related to their separate investigations into Cuomo, both of which concluded he harassed a number of women, including state employees.

The former governor’s legal team tried to subpoena James’ office and the Assembly committee in connection with a civil lawsuit filed by a state trooper (known as Trooper 1), who claims Cuomo harassed her — kissing her on the face, touching her back and making inappropriate comments — after he had her promoted to his protective detail.

Cuomo’s lawyers argued that they needed the documents to assess whether the investigations, which are cited in the trooper’s lawsuit, were truly “independent and exhaustive.” The former governor denies harassing the trooper or the other women detailed in the investigations.

But Merkl ruled that Cuomo’s wide-ranging demand in particular — which would have required James’ office to produce tens of thousands of pages of documents — was too broad and not directly relevant to the civil case.

“[Cuomo’s] claim that he needs the documents to test the investigations is unavailing,” Merkl wrote. “Whether the investigations were “independent and exhaustive” is not a question that the Trooper 1 jury will need to decide.”

In the case of the Assembly, Merkl said the committee correctly asserted “legislative privilege,” a legal concept that protects lawmakers against subpoenas for potential evidence related to “actions within the scope of legitimate legislative activity.”

Since Cuomo’s…