Gov. Kathy Hochul calls inquiry into Rich Schaffer and Suffolk Dems 'political hit job'

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday characterized a reported FBI inquiry into potential misconduct by Suffolk County Democratic chair Rich Schaffer related to his reelection to the leadership position as a “political hit job.”

Speaking after a midtown Manhattan news conference about energy affordability and heating, Hochul, a Democrat, described the FBI as a political tool of the Trump administration.

“You need to know the context of who’s doing it, what their record is of using their investigatory powers to harass political opponents,” she said, adding, “I don’t believe you can presume what the feds are alleging is true.”

In recent days, three Democratic officials confirmed to Newsday they were interviewed by FBI agents. One said the conversation centered on tactics to assist Schaffer's reelection and alleged offers of payments by Schaffer to committee members to ensure their attendance at the Sept. 22 organizational meeting. Investigators from the state Attorney General's Office participated in two of the interviews. 

Schaffer’s lawyer, Mark Lesko, wrote in an email to Newsday that Schaffer had not been contacted by law enforcement. “This is the latest in a series of baseless allegations made against Chairman Schaffer for political purposes weeks before election day,” he wrote. A Suffolk Democratic Party spokesperson has also called the allegations false.

Responding to a reporter’s question Friday about whether Schaffer’s alleged behavior was appropriate for an elected official, Hochul said: "Let’s wait for the investigation."

Hochul's Republican challenger in the race for governor, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, said that Schaffer was “entitled to a fair hearing, just as anybody else is."

Blakeman, speaking after a campaign appearance in the Morris Park neighborhood of the Bronx, declined to weigh in on Hochul's characterization of the investigation: “I don’t know enough about it, and I don’t think we should jump to conclusions either way. You see what the evidence and facts turn out to be.”

Leigh-Ann Barde, chair of the Islip Town Democrats and one of the party leaders who has said they spoke to investigators, said in an email to Newsday it was “disappointing to hear the Governor have such an opinion when she has not spoken to myself or any other whistleblower."

Barde, formerly Schaffer’s ally and supporter, threw her support behind his opponent, Southold Town Democratic Committee chair Kathryn Casey Quigley, just days before the September contest for party boss that saw Schaffer reelected to the post.

Ken Colón, a Democratic committee member who ran unsuccessfully for Islip Town supervisor in 2023, previously provided Newsday with a copy of text messages showing Schaffer had asked him to get his father to come to the convention to vote. Colón responded that his father had to work. “Can we pay him to miss work?” Schaffer wrote, according to the text. 

Schaffer, the veteran Babylon Town supervisor, was reelected in September by county Democrats to a two-year term leading Suffolk Democrats, a post he's held since 2000. 

He won 57% of the vote but faced an unusually strong challenge from Casey Quigley, who blamed Schaffer for the longtime practice of cross-endorsing Republicans and Conservatives.

Casey Quigley declined to comment on Hochul's comments, saying her focus is getting "democratic candidates elected this November."