State Ethics Panel Opens an Inquiry Into a Sexual Harassment Cover-Up

By DANNY HAKIM

New York ethics regulators have opened a new investigation into the State Assembly after learning that Assembly Democrats withheld documents that were subpoenaed as part of a recent sexual harassment inquiry, according to people with knowledge of the investigation.

The new inquiry began after The New York Times revealed last month that a top Assembly lawyer had kept quiet allegations of sexual harassment made against Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner, a Manhattan Democrat and current City Council candidate, in 2009. The lawyer, Bill Collins, was dismissed amid the revelations.

The records related to the Kellner allegations were not turned over to the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, even though the commission issued a broad subpoena for documents related to sexual harassment allegations as part of an investigation into harassment claims made against a former assemblyman, Vito J. Lopez, that concluded earlier this year.

The latest ethics inquiry is likely to further damage the reputation of the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, who has a troubled history of handling sexual misconduct cases. And it will most likely reinforce that the Legislature operates in a climate of minimal and selective disclosure, where secrets are closely guarded.

In a statement late Wednesday night, Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Mr. Silver, did not comment on the new inquiry, saying only, “When the speaker learned of the issue involving Assemblyman Kellner he immediately referred it to the Assembly Ethics Committee,” referring to a panel of lawmakers who look into internal wrongdoing. A spokesman for the Joint Commission, which issued the subpoenas, also declined to comment.

Ethics regulators are trying to determine why they were not told about the Kellner matter and if there are other cases that were kept from them, a person with knowledge of the inquiry said.

Subpoenas in the latest inquiry were sent to several current and former Assembly officials, including Mr. Collins, who long served as the chief counsel for the Assembly Democrats, as well as another top lawyer, Carolyn Kearns.

A subpoena was also served to Eliyanna Kaiser, a former chief of staff for Mr. Kellner. In 2009, after a junior staff member in Mr. Kellner’s office complained of sexual harassment, Ms. Kaiser brought the allegations to the Assembly’s central staff, and provided records of sexually suggestive chat transcripts between Mr. Kellner and the aide. But at the time, Mr. Silver’s staff decided against conducting a serious inquiry, or referring the matter to the Assembly Ethics Committee.

“After four years, I’m glad that this is finally being looked at,” Ms. Kaiser said in an interview, adding that she had been frustrated by the Assembly’s lack of interest in the case. Ms. Kaiser said she had been questioned by one of the joint commission’s investigators, who expressed frustration that the case had not been previously revealed by the Assembly. She said the investigator told her, “We should have had all of this after the Lopez investigation.”

The subpoena she received seeks “all documents, including but not limited to communications relating to any inappropriate behavior on the part of Assemblymember Micah Kellner directed toward you or any other staff member.” It continues, “For the purposes of this request, ‘inappropriate behavior,’ includes, but is not limited to, comments, actions and conduct of a sexual nature.”

Mr. Kellner apologized last month for his behavior. On Wednesday night, he released a statement saying, “If I had been aware that documents pertaining to me had been submitted to an Assembly counsel four years ago, I would have immediately requested an investigation. I welcome such an investigation now and I will cooperate fully.”

Mr. Silver’s staff has said that the speaker did not know about the case until earlier this summer and referred it immediately to the Assembly Ethics Committee, which is not connected with the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, whose members are appointed by both the governor and the Legislature.

Skepticism is high in political circles that the Assembly will conduct a thorough inquiry on its own. Assemblyman Charles Lavine, the chairman of the ethics committee, is seen by many as compromised. During the investigation of Mr. Lopez, he privately urged the Joint Commission on Public Ethics to extensively edit its investigative report before its release, but was rebuffed.