Former N.Y. attorney general won't face criminal charges following assault allegations

The special prosecutor appointed to investigate allegations that former New York attorney general Eric Schneiderman physically abused women said Thursday that she has closed the case without bringing criminal charges.

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced her decision in a brief statement. She said investigators did an "exhaustive review" and she personally interviewed each woman who had accused Schneiderman of assault. Investigators also spoke with members of Schneiderman's security detail.

She concluded that statutes of limitations and other "legal impediments" made it impossible to charge Schneiderman. The probe found no misconduct by Schneiderman's staff in the attorney general's office, she said.

Schneidermansaid he didn't consider the decision an exoneration.

I recognize that District Attorney Singas' decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong.- Eric Schneiderman

"I recognize that District Attorney Singas' decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong," he said through a publicist. "I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them.

"After spending time in a rehab facility, I am committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends to those I have harmed. I apologize for any and all pain that I have caused, and I apologize to the people of the state of New York for disappointing them after they put their trust in me."

Schneiderman, a Democrat, resigned from office in May hours after The New Yorker published an expos saying that four women had accused him of slapping or choking them. Some of the women said Schneiderman was a heavy drinker.

Schneiderman at the time didn't deny the allegations, but implied in a statement that his conduct was either welcomed or was not as the women described.

His accusers included Manning Barish, a Democratic activist and writer, who was romantically involved with Schneiderman from mid-2013 through the end of 2014.

Longtime Trump foil

Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Singas as a special prosecutor, bypassing Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. because of a potential conflict of interest. At the time, the attorney general's office was investigating how Vance's office had handled a sexual misconduct allegation against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Schneiderman has served in the role since 2011. He began investigating the Donald J. Trump Foundation five years later for misuse of funds, resulting in a lawsuit filed in June by his successor, Barbara Underwood.

The suit seeks $2.8 million US in restitution, alleging in a statement "the Trump Foundation functioned as a personal piggy bank to serve Trump's business and political interests."

The suit also seeks to have the foundation dissolved.

Trump, long before running for president, slammed Schneiderman as the "worst attorney general in the U.S." and called him a "sleazebag."