Rep. Rick Lazio accused Hillary Clinton’s campaign yesterday of trying to open a second scandal front against him, and he again insisted he’s done nothing wrong.
“The next thing I’m going to be accused of is coming down hard on the Veterans Administration for seeking medals for veterans,” Lazio joked during a farm tour in the rural Saratoga County town of West Charlton.
Lazio was responding to a published report that officials of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, headed by Andrew Cuomo, were investigating his efforts to win federal help for developers of an Islip, L.I., nursing home, whose backers are among his major campaign contributors.
“The fact is we are in desperate need of more nursing home beds,” Lazio said.
“There was about a two-year delay in getting some activity there. I simply asked the department, as I do with many other constituents, to expedite their decision making.”
Asked directly if backers of the Oakwood Care Center received special treatment, Lazio responded, “Absolutely not. Absolutely not.”
Clinton, questioned while marching in the Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade in Manhattan, said Lazio has some explaining to do.
“Some questions have been raised, there’s an investigation under way and, I believe, those questions should be answered,” she said.
Lazio suggested that Cuomo, a potential Democratic gubernatorial candidate, was behind the allegations, sarcastically declaring, “I can’t imagine there is politics at HUD.”
Lazio also said “it’s very possible” that other federal agencies were pouring over other requests he’s made on behalf of constituents.
“Their entire MO is to harass, to try and bring people down to their level, and have a negative campaign,” Lazio said of Clinton’s campaign.
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission revealed it was probing a $16,000 windfall Lazio made on a $2,300 stock investment some three years ago.
Lazio has insisted he benefited from a lucky investment – and he accused the Clinton administration of using federal agencies to tarnish his reputation in hopes of helping the first lady’s campaign.
Hillary Clinton called Lazio’s absence “a shame” as she marched in the parade with former Mayor Ed Koch and openly gay Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank.
Lazio said, “I wish I could do 20 things at once. You can’t. You just have to make choices between the many invitations you get.”