John Liu Campaign Being Investigated By Feds

After the NY Times published a report last month revealing several fund-raising improprieties by City Comptroller John Liu’s election campaign, federal authorities have begun an investigation.

Grand Jury subpoenas issued last week sought records from both the Liu campaign and from a company with city contracts whose employees were listed as donors who contributed thousands of dollars to his campaign, according to the Times.

From the Times:

It is unclear whether the current inquiry is related to an investigation begun by Manhattan federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in late 2009. That investigation, which had not previously been made public, focused on whether foreign money flowed into Mr. Liu’s 2009 campaign for comptroller, two people with knowledge of the inquiry said.

Five people discussed the inquiry into Mr. Liu’s fund-raising with The Times; three of them spoke on condition of anonymity because the proceedings of a grand jury are bound by secrecy.

Mr. Liu, a Democrat and a rising star in the city’s political world who has been viewed as a mayoral contender in part because of his fund-raising prowess, said in a brief interview on Monday that his campaign would fully cooperate with the investigation.

He added, “I am confident that my fund-raising efforts were proper at all times.”

In response to the probe, the New York Post wrote a scathing editorial yesterday, calling for Liu to step down until the investigation is complete. The opinion piece noted that Liu currently oversees the city’s $100 billion dollar pension, as well as its $65 billion dollar annual budget.