Federal authorities looking at accusations of impropriety by the Gray for Mayor campaign might mean more trouble for a fledgling administration that must quickly move to set a new course or potentially risk losing its way entirely, experts said. Earlier this week, the U.S. attorney’s office would only say that it was taking accusations by former mayoral candidate Sulaimon Brown seriously. Now, however, the office says its working with the FBI to “assess” Brown’s claims that Gray for Mayor campaign Chairwoman Lorraine Green and campaign consultant Howard Brooks passed Brown envelopes stuffed with cash so he could stay on the campaign trail. There has been no evidence yet uncovered that any federal laws were violated and Green and Brooks have both denied the accusation.
The U.S. attorney’s newest position means there “is enough evidence publicly available for a preliminary inquiry,” said Joe diGenova, a former U.S. attorney for D.C. FBI agents will look at the existing evidence and the U.S. attorney’s office will look at the applicable statutes, he said. “It should not take too long to assess whether there is enough evidence for a criminal investigation,” diGenova said.
The longer the process takes, though, the longer it will hang over the Gray administration. Political consultants said in order for the mayor to turn the page on Brown’s accusations, and stop pestering questions about hiring decisions, he’ll have to make a clear assessment of his closest advisers and fire people if necessary.
“You don’t want to fire people who are doing a good job,” said political consultant Chuck Thies. “He needs to call his principals to the carpet and demand explanations. If he then makes the determination that people need to go, he must move on it quickly and fill their positions with known quantities.”
