Mayor de Blasio on Monday blamed everyone but himself and Rachel Noerdlinger for her having to take a leave of absence as his wife’s chief-of-staff.
The mayor lashed out at the “repulsive” news reports about the former Al Sharpton aide, her convicted-killer boyfriend and her son that have embarrassed City Hall.
“A lot of really nasty stuff was done here,” charged the mayor. He likened the reports to McCarthyism — calling them “smears,” “gossip” and “character assassination.”
One problem: The reports happen to be true. Besides, when Noerdlinger accepted her high-profile public job, she accepted public scrutiny — not only of herself but of the company she keeps.
That includes her live-in companion, his manslaughter conviction, his other arrests and his history of dropping her name (and position) in court.
Not to mention her failure to disclose that information — and her own unpaid tax lien and significant outstanding parking-ticket and EZ-Pass debt — on key forms.
De Blasio took umbrage with news about Noerdlinger’s 17-year-old son, who was arrested Friday for trespassing. When reports focus on a public servant’s child, he said, “something’s really wrong here.”
Never mind that the mayor himself thought nothing about using his own children as a prop to promote his political campaign.
Having dismissed reports about Noerdlinger for fear of displeasing Sharpton, the mayor is again blaming the messenger. Some aides also finger the police unions.
And, yes, there’s tension between City Hall and rank-and-file cops. But what else to expect when the mayor undercuts his police?
Noerdlinger quit because she’d become a liability for the mayor. Yet, that’s no one’s fault but hers — and his, for insisting on keeping her on. Her departure now gives the mayor a chance to begin to restore trust.
