http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=RN0O4TGBT2TLQCRBAELCFFA?type=politicsNews&storyID=3774187
Schwarzenegger Says He Will Launch Groping Probe
Fri November 7, 2003 12:23 AM ET
(Page 1 of 2)
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Plagued by allegations of past sexual harassment,
California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Thursday he was
hiring investigators to look into the charges that dogged his election
campaign.
The statement follows a recommendation by California's top law enforcement
official, Attorney General Bill Lockyer, earlier in the day that the actor
seek some form of third party review of the charges that he groped women.
A Schwarzenegger spokesman complained that Lockyer, by making his comments
public, breached attorney-client confidentiality that should exist between
an incoming governor and the state's top legal official.
"In regard to a review of allegations that surfaced late in the campaign,
the governor-elect had already decided to engage a well-respected
investigative firm to look into the allegations," spokesman Rob Stutzman
said in a statement.
"He had intended to instruct the investigators to turn over the final
results of that investigation to the attorney general; he will now
reconsider that option."
Lockyer, a Democrat and potential gubernatorial challenger in 2006, said the
harassment charges that dogged the Republican during his campaign were a
concern considering the number of women who stepped forward.
"I don't think the issue is going to go away until he is willing to have
some form of independent, third-party review of these complaints to see if
there is any criminal liability that attaches," Lockyer told reporters.
"There is a reason to worry about the acts that may have occurred."
Lockyer said he advised Schwarzenegger as recently as this week to undergo a
voluntary investigation, adding accusations of "frat boy" behavior could
span a wide range although he did not think any criminal activity was
involved.
He added he did not want to comment on the incoming governor's response but
said: "He is very concerned I think."
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