Richard Davis, a member of the town’s Marketing campaign Finance Board, has recused himself from voting on any issues associated to Mayor Adams after penning an op-ed in February during which he blasted the Trump Justice Division’s dismissal of the mayor’s corruption indictment as “ludicrous.”
Davis, a former U.S. Treasury Division official who labored on the Watergate investigation into late President Richard Nixon’s administration, revealed the recusal throughout a Marketing campaign Finance Board assembly Tuesday, the place the panel, amongst different actions, voted to proceed to disclaim Adams public matching funds.
Davis didn’t present a proof on the assembly for why he recused himself. However a spokesman for the board confirmed he did so “out of an abundance of caution” resulting from an op-ed he wrote in February “in his personal capacity” about Adams.
On the time, the DOJ had simply submitted a controversial submitting claiming the historic legal case amounted to interference in Adams’ reelection bid and prevented him from aiding Trump’s effort to focus on undocumented New Yorkers for “mass deportations.”
Richard J. Davis. (NYC Marketing campaign Finance Board)
In his op-ed, Davis wrote that the declare that Adams’ indictment amounted to election interference “is in a word, ludicrous.” He additionally wrote within the opinion piece that Adams has “without any evidence” claimed his indictment, filed in September 2024, was political retribution for his criticism of President Biden’s dealing with of the migrant disaster.
Davis penned the opinion piece after taking part in a vote in December during which the Marketing campaign Finance Board first denied Adams’ reelection marketing campaign public matching funds resulting from his indictment, which charged him with taking unlawful political contributions and bribes, principally from Turkish authorities operatives, in change for political favors.
Since then, the board has voted a number of extra occasions to proceed denying Adams matching funds. In response to the Marketing campaign Finance Board rep, Davis has sat out all votes on that matter because the publication of his op-ed.
A spokesman for Adams’ reelection marketing campaign declined to touch upon Davis’ recusal.
The decide in Adams’ case in the end this month accredited the dismissal of the mayor’s legal case, writing that he had no selection however to take action, whereas additionally lamenting that the transfer “smacks” of a “bargain” during which the mayor is getting off scot-free in change for serving to Trump with immigration enforcement. Adams has denied any quid professional quo.
Although the indictment is now lifeless, the Marketing campaign Finance Board made clear at Tuesday’s vote that it’s going to proceed to withhold matching funds from Adams.
In a written rationalization about Tuesday’s choice, the board wrote it’s denying Adams matching funds due to normal “non-compliance” with marketing campaign finance guidelines, in addition to Adams’ failure to file his annual monetary disclosure kind on time.
The board’s rationalization doesn’t elaborate additional on the reasoning for its newest denial, however the mayor has vowed to struggle to get matching funds. After his indictment was killed, Adams dropped out of June’s Democratic mayoral major and is now searching for reelection as an unbiased candidate in November’s normal election.
