New York Gov. Kathy Hochul brushed off an FBI investigation of Long Island Democratic boss Rich Schaffer as a political hit job while defending the chairman accused of strongarm tactics to lock down his reelection.
Speaking to reporters Friday in Midtown Manhattan, Hochul stood by Suffolk County Democratic Party Chairman Rich Schaffer after federal investigators began examining allegations that he tried to buy votes and pressure committee members. Schaffer, the longtime party boss, has denied every claim and labeled them baseless.
The Post reported that Hochul cast the probe itself as timed and motivated by politics rather than evidence. She told reporters she would wait for the investigation before judging whether Schaffer’s alleged conduct fit an elected official.
Hochul admitted she did not know the details of what investigators were examining. She still framed the entire effort as suspect because of its timing and the administration behind it.
"Anything coming out of the Trump administration days before an election... is calculated as a political hit job,"
Hochul said. She added that no one should presume federal allegations are true without weighing who is making them and their record of using investigative power against political opponents. She also said a cloud hangs over the inquiry.
Multiple Democrats and former allies came forward just days before Schaffer’s reelection last month. They described what they called a pressure campaign aimed at keeping him in power against progressive challenger Kathryn Casey Quigley, his first real opponent in nearly 30 years as chairman.
The accusations included threats to get committee members fired from party-controlled jobs if they failed to back Schaffer. Sources also said cash was offered for support and that backdoor deals were cut with local Republicans to keep Democrats off the county ballot so GOP candidates could run unopposed.
Schaffer has held the Suffolk County Democratic Committee chairmanship for more than 26 years. He won reelection to the top post last month despite the whistleblower claims. Federal and state agents later interviewed multiple sources about the Long Island Dem boss, and The Post confirmed that secure invites to virtual interviews went out from federal investigators.
The FBI declined to comment on whether it was investigating Schaffer. No charges or arrests have been announced.
Leigh-Ann Bard, a former longtime Schaffer ally who became a whistleblower, told reporters the governor appeared surprised by the questions.
"It was clear that she was caught off guard and hasn’t been briefed on the matter,"
Bard said. She also voiced confidence in the process under way.
"I have full faith in [Attorney General Letitia James’] office and the FBI doing their due diligence,"
Bard added. State agents have also interviewed sources alongside federal investigators.
When asked directly whether Schaffer’s alleged behavior was appropriate for someone in elected power, Hochul declined to render a judgment. She said she would wait for the investigation to finish, review the findings, and only then decide.
Schaffer rejected every accusation of wrongdoing. He called the entire set of claims “baseless.” The Suffolk County Democratic Party has been described in reporting as locked in internal conflict over his continued hold on the chairmanship.
Hochul’s public defense arrived after the probe became public. She chose to attack the timing and the source of the investigation rather than demand a full accounting of the job threats, cash offers, and ballot arrangements described by fellow Democrats.
Voters in Suffolk County and across New York still lack clear answers on whether a 26-year party chairman used the machinery of the local Democratic organization to strong-arm his own reelection. The governor’s first instinct was to question the investigators.
Machine politics thrives when leaders protect the operators instead of the public that has to live with the results.
