Ex-consultant who accuses former NY AG chief of staff Letitia James of sexual assault says he blocked her hiring too

The ex-employee who has accused New York Attorney General Letitia James’ former chief of staff of forcibly sticking her tongue down her throat also claims he prevented her from working on James’ recent re-election campaign, according to her bombshell lawsuit.

Sofia Quintanar, 33, claims that Ibrahim Khan – who was allowed to resign after being slapped with multiple sexual harassment complaints – rejected her offer to work as a press representative for the campaign, which ended with James driving to victory in November. had effectively nullified.

The allegation is detailed in Quintanar’s lawsuit in Manhattan Superior Court last week, which charges Kahn for forcefully kissing her outside a Brooklyn bar in November 2021 and James for covering up her longtime associate’s alleged sexual misconduct .

Quintanar said she informally inquired about work on the press and communications strategy for the James campaign in September — just before she filed her complaint of harassment and abuse against Khan, the lawsuit says.

While she was interested in the position, the lawsuit says Quintanar was also “concerned” she would have to work with Khan, who had influence on her campaign as James’ chief of staff and longtime political adviser.

As a “trusted advisor” to James, he would undoubtedly “need to interact with Quintanar on a regular basis,” the filing states.

According to the lawsuit, Quintanar was “ambivalent” about the potential job, having not yet disclosed “Khan’s attack” at the Nov. 17, 2021 fundraiser to a mentor who had suggested she would be perfect for the position.

“Quintanar was under a cloud as she waited to hear about this opportunity, knowing it could put her in touch with Khan again,” the court document said.

“Shortly thereafter, Quintanar learned that Khan had personally interfered with her application.”

Khan reportedly told the campaign that he personally didn’t mind having Quintanar on board – but advised her “not getting along well enough with another senior government aide, effectively killing the opportunity for Quintanar,” according to the lawsuit.

Later in September, Quintanar told her mentor that Khan assaulted her and that he also allegedly assaulted another associate “while she was employed by Attorney General James,” according to the lawsuit.

Quintanar and her mentor then informed James’ campaign manager of their complaint against Khan, prompting James to hire an outside law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegation.

The lawsuit alleges James and her office covered up the allegations and made “misleading statements to the press” that “[Khan] was on vacation or with a sick relative” when he was in fact suspended for two months pending the investigation into the claims.

After the investigation, the AG’s office concluded on December 2 that Khan was involved in sexual harassment and misconduct involving two former employees.

Nonetheless, Khan was allowed to resign on November 22 before the investigation was completed, with a payout by the end of the year. He had received a nearly $30,000 raise in March, taking his salary from $205,663 to $235,000.

The complaints against Khan were filed ahead of Election Day and were silenced as James drove to victory, sources previously told the Post.

The Post also exclusively reported that another AG press office employee, Enny Pichardo, resigned “in lieu of termination” in 2019 after being accused of office harassment.

In another irony, James – who was then running for governor before she retired and instead ran for re-election as attorney general and won – attended the event at Someday Bar where Khan allegedly “assaulted” Quintanar’s lawsuit.

James made headlines after her investigative report on Andrew Cuomo concluded that the then three-year-old governor molested or abused a number of women, forcing his resignation under threat of impeachment last year. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing despite his departure.

Khan declined to comment. James had no immediate comment.

An AG spokesman said in response to the Quintanar lawsuit last week, “We have taken seriously the allegations brought to our office and acted decisively, quickly and appropriately.”