New York Daily News

Rev. backs Rach

Al: Noerdlinge­r is witch hunt victim

- BY ERIK BADIA and RICH SCHAPIRO With Annie Karni

WITH CALLS for her resignatio­n intensifyi­ng, embattled City Hall aide Rachel Noerdlinge­r received a boost Saturday from her old boss.

The Rev. Al Sharpton came to the defense of his former mouthpiece, slamming reporters while suggesting Noerdlinge­r was the victim of a witch hunt.

First Lady Chirlane McCray’s s chief of staff has been hit by a series of damning revelation­s — some stemming from her relationsh­ip with a cop-hating ex-con.

“If she’s judged by her boyfriend, d, then let’s go to City Hall and get thehe name and background of everybody’s boyfriend and girlfriend,” ,” Sharpton thundered at a press conference at the National Action Network’s Harlem headquarte­rs.

“If they’ve been around folks that at were busted, let’s get the name of everybody at City Hall. See who’s been around anybody that’s been busted, including Room 9 where the reporters are.”

The controvers­y erupted three weeks ago when it was revealed that Noerdlinge­r was living with Hassaun McFarlan, who has a manslaught­er conviction on his record. McFarlan, then 15, shot an 18-year-old man to death during an argument over a jacket in 1993. McFarlan has also been convicted of drug traffickin­g.

In the latest developmen­t, it emerged on Friday that Noerdlinge­r was riding shotgun with McFarlan in 2011 when he was busted for driving the wrong way in a car that reeked of pot. New Jersey cops arrested McFarlan for marijuana possession after he tossed two bags of marijuana on the driver’s seat. Noerdlinge­r received a violation for allowing her boyfriend to drive her car without a license.

A teenage boy, possibly Noerdlinge­r’s son, was in the back seat at the time of the incident.

Mayor de Blasio has stood by Noerdlinge­r, who makes $170,000 a year — and a Department of Investigat­ion probe found no evidence that the highly paid aide intended to deceive City Hall.

At a Manhattan campaign rally Saturday, Gov. Cuomo wouldn’t say whether Noerdlinge­r should get the boot.

“I have not followed it all that closely,” Cuomo said. “I think it’s best for City Hall that knows all the facts to make that determinat­ion.”

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