Harvey Weinstein in April 2017. Image by Getty

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the state Attorney General’s Office to suspend its investigation into whether Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr. mishandled 2015 allegations of sexual misconduct against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, BuzzFeed News reported Tuesday.

The suspension is supposed to be a temporary pause to avoid interfering with the current criminal case against Weinstein. But that case could go on for months, even years, so it’s possible the suspension could be permanent, according to BuzzFeed.

In June, Cuomo’s office sent Attorney General Barbara Underwood a letter calling for a six-month pause in the investigation so that it would not hamper Vance’s prosecution of Weinstein on sexual assault charges, according to BuzzFeed.

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“Upon receiving a referral from the Governor, this spring the Attorney General’s Office commenced an inquiry into the handling of recent sexual assault investigations conducted by the Manhattan DA and the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit,” Amy Spitalnick, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office told BuzzFeed. “This summer, pursuant to the Governor’s office, we temporarily suspended our inquiry to avoid any interference with the District Attorney’s ongoing prosecution of Harvey Weinstein. We remain committed to conducting a comprehensive, fair, and independent review.”

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at [email protected], or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

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