New Haven officials say they’re cooperating fully and working to compile documents requested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A person who requested anonymity told the New Haven Independent that the subpoena focuses on at least three issues — a youth center and homeless shelter that was never completed, a federal grant to address violence in a section of the city, and a proposal for a charter school.
City spokesman Laurence Grotheer said the city’s office of the corporation counsel received the federal subpoena just over two weeks ago. Grotheer said he hasn’t read the full subpoena, but confirmed that a number of documents regarding several issues were requested.
“There is no mention in the subpoena of the mayor nor the mayor’s office,” said Grotheer, adding that no member of Mayor Toni Harp’s administration is named in the subpoena, either.
Grotheer said nothing stands out about the information summoned. He said the city routinely receives similar requests from residents, press outlets, and other agencies and organizations.
“I don’t mean to suggest that it’s routine for the city to receive a request from federal officials for information, but the nature of this request is quite routine,” Grotheer said.
Harp’s campaign manager, Ed Corey, put out a press release late Wednesday calling the impending investigation a “political hit job.” Corey said Harp’s Democratic challenger Justin Elicker’s wife is an assistant U.S. attorney working in the Trump administration — suggesting that her influence initiated the investigation.
Grotheer said the feds have not given a particular deadline for the requested documents.
