Tish James' top New York aide resigns following harassment probe

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Attorney General Tish James’ top aide stepped down Friday after an investigation into claims of sexual harassment.

James’ office confirmed her chief of staff Ibrahim Khan resigned after an outside probe into accusations against him.

“The Office of Attorney General has protocols in place to thoroughly investigate any allegation of misconduct,” a spokeswoman for the office 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.”

James’ office has been a leading voice in combating harassment in New York. In 2021, she investigated sexual harassment claims against then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Her conclusions, that nearly one dozen allegations against him were legitimate, led to his resignation.

The allegations against Khan reported by The New York Times included at least two separate sexual harassment accusations, including at least one of inappropriate touching and unwanted kissing.

James hired a law firm to independently investigate, according to a person familiar with the matter, and the investigation did not find evidence of misconduct within the office.

The office was first made aware of the allegations several weeks ago, according to the person familiar with the “handful” of complaints, and they were not notified directly by the complainants. The person said that none involved current employees, meaning when the alleged conduct occurred, the individuals were not employed by the Attorney General’s Office.

In a statement to Gothamist, Khan said his resignation was not related to the allegations, saying he was planning to leave at the end of James' first term. She was re-elected last month.

“After a successful four-year term, I’ve been slated to leave the office for the private sector at the end of this year," Khan wrote. "This is unrelated to an investigation which, nevertheless, found no official workplace misconduct. I’m proud of all we have achieved over these past four years in serving New Yorkers.”

Khan was a spokesperson for James’ campaign for New York City public advocate in 2013 and became chief of staff after she took office. He managed her run for attorney general and continued as her chief of staff once she was elected to her current role in 2018.