Time’s Up, the female-led organization formed in the aftermath of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, has called for an investigation into Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance for his failure to prosecute the former movie mogul.
In an open letter, the group called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to “launch an independent investigation” into Vance and the office of the District Attorney “to determine the facts related to the decision not to prosecute Harvey Weinstein for sexual abuse crimes against one of his accusers, Ambra Battilana.”
Back in October, The New Yorker released an audio recording of Weinstein speaking with young model Ambra Battilana Gutierrez as part of a 2015 sting operation. The NYPD set up the sting after Gutierrez told authorities that Weinstein groped her the day before.
In the recording, Weinstein makes potentially incriminating comments to Gutierrez, but Weinstein was not arrested or charged with a crime at the time.
After the tape’s release, the New York Police Department and the Manhattan DA’s office traded public finger-pointing.
Vance has also faced criticism for accepting a $10,000 donation from David Boies, an attorney who has represented Weinstein, in August 2015, according to campaign financial disclosure forms from the New York State Board of Elections.
The Time’s Up open letter said the possibility that Vance was “improperly influenced” was “particularly disturbing.”
“An independent investigation into the full decision-making process in this case, including a full review of the correspondence within the office and with any representatives for Mr. Weinstein, must be undertaken immediately to ensure that prosecutorial integrity was maintained and to restore faith in the DA’s office,” the letter said.
The Manhattan DA’s office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Vance has defended his decision not to prosecute Weinstein in the past.
“At the end of the day, we operate in the courtroom of the law, not the courtroom of public opinion,” Vance said in October.
To date, dozens of women have accused Weinstein of abuse, following reports in the New York Times and the New Yorker last year about his treatment of women, including some of those with whom he’s worked. Weinstein has been accused of rape, assault and other forms of sexual misconduct.
Weinstein sought treatment after the allegations were made public and through a representative has repeatedly denied all allegations of “non-consensual sex.”
“There will only be real consequences for abusive behavior when our public officials, sworn to uphold the law, care as much about the rights of the victim as concerns for the accused,” the letter added.
CNN’s Elizabeth Joseph contributed to this report from New York.