Preet Bharara to question Mayor de Blasio over City Hall corruption
Things are starting to get real for Mayor de Blasio.
First the mayor was questioned for nearly two hours by Manhattan prosecutors over his fund-raising for state Senate elections — and now Hizzoner has agreed to talk to the feds because he wants to convince them to stop investigating him for possible corruption at City Hall, it was reported Friday.
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara set up the meeting with de Blasio, which will be held in the next two weeks without the protection of immunity, according to WNBC/Channel 4.
Sources told the station that the mayor is convinced he can prove to investigators that he has not traded government favors for political donations during his time in office.
The mayor ultimately believes he can sway them to drop their probe, the sources added.
The feds first began zeroing in on the mayor last October, when they subpoenaed thousands of e-mails and documents from his office pertaining to his 2013 campaign and nonprofit group, the Campaign for One New York.
The nonprofit was shut down and is charged with promoting the mayor’s progressive agenda, including eliminating income inequality, gentrification and police brutality.
It allegedly funneled money from wealthy donors into de Blasio’s campaign coffers. The nonprofit’s campaign finance director, Ross Offinger, has been under scrutiny for his role in the operation.
The probe also is focusing on whether de Blasio and his aides traded favors in exchange for campaign and nonprofit donations.
The mayor’s meeting with Bharara was revealed just days after Hizzoner admitted for the very first time to being grilled by investigators over his campaign fund-raising.
De Blasio said Wednesday the sit-down took place a few weeks ago at the request of the Manhattan DA’s Office.
On Friday, de Blasio also defended the city’s $11.7 million in payouts for legal bills to protect the administration against the numerous probes.
“Anything related to city employees — and I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about all the other city employees who have been a part of this process — they need representation. It’s an American right,” he said on WNYC Radio. “Obviously they shouldn’t have to pay for it out of their own pockets in regards to their city responsibilities.”
De Blasio also insisted the probes are a huge waste of time and money because everything his administration has done has been aboveboard.
http://nypost.com/2017/01/27/preet-bharara-to...t=20170127
Things are starting to get real for Mayor de Blasio.
First the mayor was questioned for nearly two hours by Manhattan prosecutors over his fund-raising for state Senate elections — and now Hizzoner has agreed to talk to the feds because he wants to convince them to stop investigating him for possible corruption at City Hall, it was reported Friday.
Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara set up the meeting with de Blasio, which will be held in the next two weeks without the protection of immunity, according to WNBC/Channel 4.
Sources told the station that the mayor is convinced he can prove to investigators that he has not traded government favors for political donations during his time in office.
The mayor ultimately believes he can sway them to drop their probe, the sources added.
The feds first began zeroing in on the mayor last October, when they subpoenaed thousands of e-mails and documents from his office pertaining to his 2013 campaign and nonprofit group, the Campaign for One New York.
The nonprofit was shut down and is charged with promoting the mayor’s progressive agenda, including eliminating income inequality, gentrification and police brutality.
It allegedly funneled money from wealthy donors into de Blasio’s campaign coffers. The nonprofit’s campaign finance director, Ross Offinger, has been under scrutiny for his role in the operation.
The probe also is focusing on whether de Blasio and his aides traded favors in exchange for campaign and nonprofit donations.
The mayor’s meeting with Bharara was revealed just days after Hizzoner admitted for the very first time to being grilled by investigators over his campaign fund-raising.
De Blasio said Wednesday the sit-down took place a few weeks ago at the request of the Manhattan DA’s Office.
On Friday, de Blasio also defended the city’s $11.7 million in payouts for legal bills to protect the administration against the numerous probes.
“Anything related to city employees — and I’m not talking about myself, I’m talking about all the other city employees who have been a part of this process — they need representation. It’s an American right,” he said on WNYC Radio. “Obviously they shouldn’t have to pay for it out of their own pockets in regards to their city responsibilities.”
De Blasio also insisted the probes are a huge waste of time and money because everything his administration has done has been aboveboard.
http://nypost.com/2017/01/27/preet-bharara-to...t=20170127
