No charges for NYC’s mayor over fundraising

After a year- long public corruption probe, federal prosecutors do not intend to file any criminal charges against New York Mayor Bill de Blasio or his staff over allegations of improper fundraising, acting U. S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement Thursday.

“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,” said Kim, serving as acting U. S. attorney after last week’s departure of U. S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The probe involved accusations that de Blasio, a Democrat, and his aides gave favorable treatment to donors who contributed to his 2013 mayoral campaign.

Kim said the decision not to file charges was based on the high burden of proof required in prosecuting serious public corruption cases, the clarity of law and the difficulty in proving criminal intent in corruption schemes where there is no evidence of personal profit.

“I have said, I think, hundreds of times, that what we did was appropriate in every way,” de Blasio said Wednesday morning on WNYC radio. “The law is quite clear, and we respected that law.”

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. empaneled a grand jury for a year to look into illegalities. In a letter to the state Board of Elections on Thursday, he said no criminality could be found — but he blasted the fundraising.

“This conclusion is not an endorsement of the conduct at issue,” he wrote.