JCOPE Brings Action to Force Compliance with Subpoena

Last Friday, a lawyer for the Campaign for One New York  — a 501(c)(4) created to push for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s agenda – wrote to the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) and said that the group would not comply with a JCOPE subpoena seeking about the group’s donors.  On Monday, JCOPE filed papers in State Supreme Court asking a judge enforce the subpoena.

The Campaign for One New York registered with JCOPE as a lobbyist in 2014, but did not register in 2015.  JCOPE is looking at whether the group should have registered with JCOPE in 2015.

Attorney Laurence Laufer, writing for the Campaign for One New York, called on JCOPE to conclude its investigation, and called JCOPE’s investigation politically motivated. (Read Mr.  Laufer’s letter to JCOPE here, and read reports from Politico NY and the Capitol Confidential blog.)

Yesterday, JCOPE responded by asking a State Supreme Court judge to compel the Campaign for One New York to provide documents related to its lobbying and fund-raising activities.  JCOPE argues that the nonprofit had no basis for refusing to provide the documents. Mr. Laufer told the Daily News that “we believe JCOPE’s request is clearly unsupported by the facts and unjustified by the law, and we look forward to making that case in court.”

Read news reports from the New York Times and the Daily News.