Mayor de Blasio Questioned in Corruption Probe

Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he had been questioned recently regarding several corruption allegations in his administration but he said he was “absolutely not” the target of a grand jury.

“The Manhattan District Attorney’s office asked for an interview, and we did an interview,” de Blasio told reporters at an unrelated press conference.

He said the interview involved “me and my lawyers” and took place “a few weeks back,” but would not reveal any of what was discussed.

“I’m not going into any details. Lawyers can fill in for you. I just told you the factual answer to your question,” he said.

The Democratic mayor, who is up for reelection this year, is the target of federal and state probes into his financing and issuance of building permits.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance’s office had empaneled a grand jury to look into claims that the mayor had tried to circumvent limits on fundraising by funneling the money through state Senate campaigns.

De Blasio said he was not asked to testify before the grand jury. He then wrapped up the press conference, refusing to answer any more questions.

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the January 26th, 2017 edition of Hamodia.