Bill de Blasio Fundraising Investigation: No Charges Will Be Filed

NEW YORK, NY — State and federal prosecutors investigating New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign fundraising said Thursday morning that they would not bring charges against him or any of his aides.

While de Blasio escaped charges, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, the state prosecutor, said in a 10-page letter to the state's board of elections that de Blasio's conduct ran "contrary to the intent and spirit of the laws."

Vance, though, said "the parties involved cannot be appropriately prosecuted, given their reliance on the advice of counsel."

The prosecutors were investigating whether de Blasio or his aides accepted donations from major state and city business players and developers in return for favors during his 2013 run for mayor and a 2014 effort to help Democrats re-take the state senate.

“I have not had a chance to analyze that statement but I can tell you this much: We did everything within the law, everything within a clear ethical standard,” de Blasio said in an appearance on a Thursday morning radio program shortly after the announcements were made. “We sought guidance and clarity from the city Conflicts of Interest Board along the way, sought advice from counsel."

In a follow-up statement, sent by email, de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said: "We thank these prosecutors’ offices for conducting what were clearly diligent and exhaustive reviews – and for making public the conclusions of these probes. New Yorkers deserve honest, progressive government. With this Mayor, they will always get it."

Joon H. Kim, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, made his announcement in a short press release on his office's website.

"After careful deliberation, given the totality of the circumstances here and absent additional evidence, we do not intend to bring federal criminal charges against the Mayor or those acting on his behalf relating to the fundraising efforts in question," Kim said in a statement.

"Although it is rare that we issue a public statement about the status of an investigation, we believe it appropriate in this case at this time, in order not to unduly influence the upcoming campaign and Mayoral election."

Kim is serving as the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York after President Trump fired Breet Bharara last week from the high-profile post. De Blasio was interviewed by investigators from the office in February.

The district attorney's office said Thursday that it did look into instances "in which Mayor de Blasio and others acting on his behalf solicited donations from individuals who sought official favors from the City, after which the Mayor made or directed inquiries to relevant City agencies on behalf of those donors."

You can read the full announcement from the U.S. Attorney's Office here.

You can read the full letter from the state attorney's office below:

Image: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File