De Blasio Grilled About Upcoming Meeting With Federal Prosecutors
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio found himself on the hot seat Friday.
He was grilled with questions about his impending meeting with federal prosecutors about the corruption probes involving his administration.
As CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported, de Blasio received a warm welcome in Long Island City, Queens, when he arrived for a news conference on community efforts to improve gun safety.
But things turned decidedly chillier when, after a week of silence, he finally had to answer questions about the stunning disclosure he will meet with prosecutors from U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office to discuss their corruption investigation into his administration.
When Kramer asked de Blasio if he or the prosecutors requested the meeting, de Blasio said: "I'm not going into the tick-tock because I wasn't party to the tick-tock. We presented a willingness to cooperate from the beginning, and however the pieces came together, we're going to go in and have that meeting."
There are actually two grand jury probes -- a state investigation into campaign financing and efforts to defeat state Senate Republicans, and the federal probe, which reportedly involves whether the de Blaiso administration did favors for donors. The federal investigation is also looking into the controversial sale of the Rivington nursing home to a condo developer.
Kramer asked de Blasio if he would ask for a grant of immunity, which means the mayor would demand that prosecutors agree not to charge him based on what he says to them.
"I'm not answering the question because I want to defer to lawyers to answer the question," de Blasio replied. "I just think that's healthier in this case because these are legal matters."
Since the investigations began a year ago, the mayor has maintained that he did nothing wrong. He has already been questioned by state investgators. On the meeting with Bharara, de Blasio said: "In the coming weeks, we're going to go in and have a discussion. I think it's going to be a good one. I"m looking forward to getting on the table all the issues."
The mayor has refused to say when exactly he will be questioned.
De Blasio's lawyer, Barry Berke, did not respond to a request for comment.
The mayor said he will not use city money to pay his legal bills. He will seek donations.