The city Campaign Finance Board has again denied Mayor Adams more than $3 million in public matching funds for his reelection effort on Wednesday — and laid out two brand new reasons to justify the action.
Going into Wednesday’s board meeting, Adams’ team was bullish he’d finally get matching funds after having been deprived of them since December 2024 due to his federal corruption indictment and a lack of response to the CFB’s long-running requests for missing documentation.
But CFB Chairman Frederick Schaffer said at the meeting that Adams still won’t get any matching cash because the responses his campaign did provide weren’t sufficient and the board is still confident he “has violated the law.”
“With respect to the failure to provide requested information, the board finds the campaign has provided incomplete, and misleading information to the CFB, and has impeded the CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation,” Schaffer said.
“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. The board’s investigation of the Adams campaign is ongoing.”
The cash is critical as Adams mounts an independent run amid a crowded field.
Todd Shapiro, Adams’ reelection campaign spokesman, excoriated the board’s latest reasons for denial as “vague and unsubstantiated.” He also said the mayor’s team is “reviewing all legal options, including formal action to compel the release of public matching funds.”
“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. In fact our team has cooperated fully, responding in good faith to every request and submitted the required documentation in a timely manner.”
Schaffer didn’t elaborate on what made the Adams campaign’s responses insufficient or share more details about the belief that he broke the law. Adams was charged in his federal indictment with campaign finance fraud, including allegations of taking illegal contributions from Turkish nationals that were used to leverage matching funds.
Prior to the meeting, Frank Carone, Adams’ campaign chairman, had said he was confident there was no longer “anything anywhere” that should prevent the CFB from issuing a payout to the mayor.
Carone pinned that optimism on two recent developments: Adams’ team earlier this month finally responded to the board’s documentation requests and a federal judge ruled in July that his indictment could no longer be grounds for denial, given that it was dismissed by President Trump’s Justice Department, albeit as part of a highly controversial arrangement.
Carone has previously said the campaign would only provide the CFB with documentation that isn’t subject to a federal protective order that remains active in Adams’ corruption case despite the dismissal.