http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/nyregion/bill-de-blasio-campaign-for-one-new-york-subpoena.html 2016-09-12 19:06:41 De Blasio’s Nonprofit Must Comply With Ethics Panel’s Subpoena, Judge Says The decision involved an inquiry into whether the Campaign for One New York, which supported the mayor’s political agenda, violated state regulations by failing to register in 2015 as a lobbyist. === A state court judge in Albany ordered Mayor The 28-page decision by Denise A. Hartman, a State Supreme Court justice, involved an investigation by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics into whether the nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, violated state regulations by The two parties argued their positions The ruling, issued last week but not received by the parties until Monday, comes as Mr. de Blasio is also fighting in State Supreme Court in Manhattan to keep emails and text messages between City Hall and a small number of outside advisers — some of whom played central roles in the political nonprofit before it Mr. de Blasio’s lawyers cooperated with the investigation for months, turning over documents in an effort to show that although the nonprofit had registered as a lobbyist in 2014, it had conducted no lobbying during 2015 and therefore did not register that year. But after the state panel issued a second subpoena in May, the nonprofit’s lawyers decided to stop cooperating, arguing it had gone beyond the panel’s jurisdiction. That second subpoena sought a broad range of information, including expenses, agendas and correspondence that related to donations received by the nonprofit. Its lawyers also withheld some documents — meetings and communications between the Campaign for One New York and the mayor’s office — requested by the state panel, known as Jcope, in its first subpoena, citing a variety of exemptions to disclosure, including attorney-client privilege and trade secrets. Justice Hartman, at one point, accused the nonprofit’s lawyers of circular reasoning, writing that the Campaign for One New York “insists that, because it asserts that it did not lobby the mayor but only advised him, Jcope is precluded from obtaining communications between the mayor and the campaign,” she wrote. “But having laid a proper foundation, Jcope is entitled to review them and make its own determination.” Laurence Laufer, a lawyer for the nonprofit, said that while they were reviewing the decision, “Jcope has not conducted this investigation in good faith,” and that no evidence of lobbying by the nonprofit has been provided. The panel, he said, “should conclude this politicized investigation.” Daniel J. Horwitz, the chairman of the state panel, said in a statement that the panel was “pleased with the decision” and “will continue to robustly enforce the law.” The court hearing, originally closed to the public but opened after a motion by The New York Times, culminated a bitter and public feud between the state panel and the nonprofit’s lawyers, who suggested the inquiry had been motivated by a political desire to hurt the mayor on the part of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. The state panel has denied any political motivation behind its investigation. “Campaign has not demonstrated that any of the subpoenaed documents are privileged or otherwise exempt from disclosure,” Justice Hartman wrote, referring to the nonprofit, with the exception of documents from 2013 — which she said were not relevant to the inquiry — and four other documents that might be covered by the attorney-client privilege. She ordered those four documents to be turned over for review by the court to see if the privilege applies.