NY Dems quietly dismiss harassment claims against pol challenging Republican in closely watched House race — while refusing to offer details

New York Democrats quietly dismissed harassment allegations against state Sen. John Mannion — who is running in a closely watched congressional race — but are refusing to provide details of the independent investigation.

A letter sent to accusers by the Democratic-led state Senate’s personnel director said a third-party attorney found Mannion didn’t violate the chamber’s policies on harassment and creating a hostile work environment.

One of the accusers, a staffer who worked on Mannion’s campaigns and his official senate office, said they weren’t offered any additional details about the investigation or rationale for the finding.

“At the end of the day, I know what happened to me,” the source said.

The staffer said they spoke with the attorney hired by the Senate – Michael Murphy, of the Manhattan-based Barclay Damon law firm – for roughly two hours and described instances of Mannion and his wife allegedly berating staffers and making sexist and homophobic remarks. The allegations were detailed in a letter released in June and first reported by The Post.

The accuser said they identified several people who could corroborate some of their claims, but that those people were never contacted.

Another former staffer who previously described an instance of Mannion allegedly berating her for nearly 45 minutes at his union office also said she was never contacted.

The accusers are able to appeal the decision to the Senate until Saturday, 15 days after they first got the letter about the investigation’s determination.

“Mr. Murphy has completed the investigation and submitted a detailed, confidential response to the Secretary of the Senate for review. I am writing to inform you of the finding. It was concluded that there was no violation of the policy,” the letter, dated Aug. 16 and obtained by The Post, reads.

Mannion, a state senator representing the 50th district, which encompasses Syracuse suburbs and Oswego, is vying for the 22nd Congressional District — a race widely believed to be Democrats’ best chance at flipping a seat in New York in the November election.

His campaign manager, Joe Agovino, couldn’t be bothered to respond to questions from The Post Thursday. The campaign previously dismissed the allegations as being “politically motivated.”

A State Senate spokesperson, also named Michael Murphy, refused to give The Post a copy of the third-party investigator’s report, and declined to comment, saying it was a personnel matter.

The chamber’s harassment and discrimination policy doesn’t specifically mention anything barring the report from being released.

“It is up to them if they want to release it,” said Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group established by former legislative staffers.

She added: “The fact that there seems to be no information that was provided about the actual reasons for their determination is deeply concerning.”

Vladimer noted that having no information about the determination to go on makes it extremely difficult for the accusers to appeal the decision.

One of Mannion’s accusers said they don’t regret coming forward with the allegations.

“I hope the fact that this is now at least public can serve as a necessary warning for anybody else who may want to work for John Mannion in the future,” they said.

Murphy, the investigator, refused to answer questions from The Post Thursday. He currently represents defendants in several child sexual abuse cases. The cases were filed under the Child Victims Act, which opened up a window for victims to file cases that had expired because of the statute of limitations.

First-term Rep. Brandon Williams, who Mannion is challenging for the central New York district seat, said he stood with the accusers.

“This finding does not clear Mannion of the concern regarding a hostile work place raised by his former staffers, and does not change the fact that so many former staffers felt compelled to speak out about their experiences—at great personal and professional cost,” a spokesperson for Williams wrote in a statement.

“We stand with the victims and commend their bravery in coming forward. This issue deserves more scrutiny, and CNY voters will hold Mannion accountable, even if his allies in Albany won’t.”

The district is rated as leaning Democrat by Cook Political Report. Under its current lines, President Biden won the district in 2020, but Gov. Kathy Hochul lost it in 2022.