Mayor de Blasio "too busy" to follow Moreland Commission scandal, even as it may yet ensnare him

Should Mayor de Blasio worry about The Advance Group federal complaint that was referred to the Moreland Commission ?

In Orwellian twist, Mayor de Blasio professes Gov. Cuomo's "integrity," even though the Cuomo administration is under federal investigation over the corrupt closure of the Moreland Commission When asked earlier today by reporters about the Moreland Commission scandal engulfing the Cuomo administration, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "I'm not following it, because I have a lot of other things to do." The mayor, just back from a 10-day vacation to the Italian Riviera, is acclimating himself to a new political landscape upended by an ethics controversy that may claim the political career of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who disbanded a corruption-fighting panel known as the Moreland Commission at the end of last March. In the wake of protestations by government reform activists, who opposed Gov. Cuomo's unseemly closure of the Moreland Commission, Mayor de Blasio strong-armed the Working Families Party two months ago into endorsing Gov. Cuomo's reelection campaign. Now that Mayor de Blasio is vulnerable to a political backlash for having endorsed a candidate under possible federal investigation, the mayor is trying to distance himself from the governor's scandal. However, as federal prosecutors conduct their promised due diligence of the unfinished Moreland Commission's corruption investigations, amongst the information that prosecutors will be reviewing is the federal complaint against The Advance Group, which was referred to the Moreland Commission after it was filed with the U.S. Attorney's Office. Last year was the first time when the corrupt Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case allowed big money campaign contributors to compromise the integrity of New York's municipal elections, ensnaring the de Blasio mayoral campaign in the activities of a controversial Super PAC managed by The Advance Group.

RELATED Mayor de Blasio is too busy to follow Moreland Commission brouhaha, but hails Cuomo's "integrity" (The New York Daily News) The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission (NYC : News & Analysis) Mayor de Blasio privately asks Working Families Party to back Gov. Cuomo for reelection (The New York Daily News)

Candidate Barack Obama in 2007 on Warrantless Wiretapping

Excerpt from President Obama's speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center on August 1, 2007.

... This Administration also puts forward a false choice between the liberties we cherish and the security we demand. I will provide our intelligence and law enforcement agencies with the tools they need to track and take out the terrorists without undermining our Constitution and our freedom.

That means no more illegal wire-tapping of American citizens. No more national security letters to spy on citizens who are not suspected of a crime. No more tracking citizens who do nothing more than protest a misguided war. No more ignoring the law when it is inconvenient. That is not who we are. And it is not what is necessary to defeat the terrorists. The FISA court works. The separation of powers works. Our Constitution works.

We will again set an example for the world that the law is not subject to the whims of stubborn rulers, and that justice is not arbitrary.

This Administration acts like violating civil liberties is the way to enhance our security. It is not. There are no short-cuts to protecting America ... .

Read more : Illinois Senator Barack Obama, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, gave this August 2007 speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center.