Aug. 6 (UPI) — New York City’s Campaign Finance Board denied Mayor Eric Adams’ request for more than $3 million in matching campaign funds after concluding his campaign provided “incomplete and misleading information.”
The city’s CFB on Wednesday morning denied Adams’ request for matching public campaign funds due to his campaign not submitting the paperwork required and because board members think Adams broke federal corruption laws.
“The board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation,” board chairman Frederick Schaffer said during the CFB’s Wednesday morning meeting.
“With respect to the second ground, the board’s conclusion is based upon its review of all of the available evidence, including, but not limited to, its own independent investigation,” Schaffer added.
He said the board has an “ongoing” investigation into the Adams campaign but did not explain what made the campaign’s responses unacceptable.
The board has denied Adams’ requests for matching campaign funds since December 2024 because of his federal indictment on corruption charges that since have been dropped.
Adams’ campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro called the board’s decision “vague and unsubstantiated” and said the campaign might seek legal remedies to obtain matching funds, the New York Daily News reported.
“Mayor Adams has always run campaigns with the highest standards of integrity, transparency and adherence to the law, spanning nearly 40 years of public service and political leadership,” Shapiro said,
“At no point has this campaign attempted to mislead, withhold or obstruct the work of the CFB,” Shapiro continued.
“In fact, our team has cooperated fully, responding in good faith to every request and submitted the required documentation in a timely manner,” he added.
Before Wednesday morning’s meeting, Adams’ campaign chairman, Frank Carone, expressed confidence that the board would approve the matching funds, the Daily News reported.
He said the campaign had responded to the board’s requests for documentation and a federal judge in July ruled the federal indictment of Adams no longer qualifies as grounds for denial because the Department of Justice dropped the case.
The indictment accused Adams of campaign finance fraud and accepting illegal contributions from Turkish nationals.
The Trump administration dropped the case, which it said was politically motivated.
Adams seeks re-election as an independent candidate for the crowded New York City mayoral race that includes Democratic Party nominee Zohran Mamdani, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
Sliwa is the GOP’s nominee, while Cuomo is running as an independent after losing the Democratic Party’s primary election against Mamdani.