#James Malatras, SUNY chancellor and ex-Andrew Cuomo right hand, condemns governor

SUNY Chancellor James Malatras just flunked New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his alleged abusive behavior towards women, detailed in the state Attorney General’s bombshell investigative report last week.

Malatras — a long-time Cuomo aide and loyalist — distributed a letter to SUNY leadership on Monday night condemning his former boss’s behavior and distancing himself from the controversy.

“Simply put, I was outraged at the repugnant acts detailed in the report. As you all know, I have worked with the Governor at certain points for many years. It was always a difficult and demanding environment to work in,” Malatras said in a letter to all SUNY campus presidents, obtained by The Post.

“I want to assure you, however, that I had no knowledge of the actions corroborated in the Attorney General’s report, conduct that far exceeded anything I could even fathom during my time in the Governor’s Office.”

Malatras continues:

“I don’t care who you are or what position you hold, whether it’s on a campus, the private sector, or the leader of a state—it’s simply unacceptable, and anyone found to have committed such acts is not fit to serve in that leadership position. I believe that in this case as well.”

Malatras, 43, is a former state operations director and special adviser to the governor’s response team on the coronavirus pandemic and could be seen frequently at his side during press conferences. He also served as president of SUNY’s Empire State College.

Then last year he quickly emerged as the frontrunner to take over SUNY chancellorship, propelled by his close ties to the governor.

Malatras had butted heads publicly last year with one of Cuomo’s accusers, who claimed that he had “defamed” her in a tweet years ago.

Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide and one eleven women who have accused the governor of sexual harassment, tweeted at Malatras in March, claiming he did the Cuomo administration’s bidding when he took aim at her two years ago in a tweet after she spoke up about the “toxic work culture” for women in the second-floor executive chamber.