Cuomo orders review of Manhattan DA’s handling of Weinstein case

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered a review of how Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance handled sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein in 2015.

He’s also ordered that a currently ongoing investigation against the disgraced movie mogul be reviewed by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in 45 days.

That’s the amount of time Vance said it would take to fully investigate allegations that the movie mogul forced himself on a woman in 2004 and another one in 2010.

“I have directed the Attorney General to begin a review of the 2015 case in a way that does not interfere with the current investigation and, at the conclusion of the Manhattan District Attorney’s current investigation, to review the entire matter and report to me on its findings,” Cuomo said. “It is of great concern that sexual assault cases have not been pursued with full vigor by our criminal justice system. .. Specifically, there are questions about the handling of the 2015 sexual assault case of Ms. Ambra Battilana against Harvey Weinstein.”

The Italian model accused the 66-year-old Weinstein of grabbing her breasts, forcing her hand on his thigh and attempting to kiss her when she was 22 years old. She went to the NYPD but the case was dismissed after anonymous sources smeared Battilana’s credibility in the press by calling her a ” gold-digger. ”

Cuomo’s announcement that he’s reviewing Vance’s handling of the complaint comes a day after the anti-harassment Time’s Up campaign demanded a probe into whether the District Attorney’s ties to Weinstein’s legal team led his office to undermine the victim .

Vance dropped the case, despite Weinstein admitting on tape that he had groped the young model.

“Based on these findings we will decide what further actions may be necessary,” Cuomo said.

Vance will cooperate fully with the state and is sure the probe will show no wrongdoing by Manhattan prosecutors, DA spokesman Danny Frost said.

“We are confident that any review will confirm that our Office has pursued its investigation without fear or favor, based on the merits alone,” Frost said.

“We will of course provide the Attorney General with any necessary information, and expect that he will promptly determine that our Office has been guided solely by the facts and the law.”

Frost added: “The Manhattan DA’s pioneering Sex Crimes Unit has an unparalleled record of success on behalf of survivors, and has served for decades as a national leader in the investigation and prosecution of sex crimes committed by perpetrators of all economic backgrounds.”

The probe into a sitting DA’s work is unprecedented with one exception.

The only other time that Cuomo has ordered a similar a review, an Albany-area district attorney was criminally charged by the state Attorney General for his handling of a death in police custody.

In announcing that he would use his power to have Schneiderman investigate sexual harassment complaints against Weinstein, Cuomo said: “It is critical not only that these cases are given the utmost attention but also that there is public confidence in the handling of these cases.”

Cops with the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit have said they had to protect Weinstein’s victim from the District Attorney’s staff because “the feared his office was actively working to discredit her.”

Cuomo said he acted in response to the #METTOO and #TimesUp movements’ call for him to act.

The announcement came the same day that actress Cynthia Nixon announced she would challenge the governor with the backing of the last woman who ran against him, Zephyr Teachout. Teachout pulled roughly a third of the vote when she challenged the incumbent governor four years ago.