Republican Party activists described Manhattan GOP Chairman Dan Isaacs as damaged goods yesterday after The Post disclosed he was caught on an FBI undercover tape on tape weighing thinly veiled bribe offers.
Isaacs ultimately never took any money and was not charged in the far-reaching corruption case that led to the indictments of Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith and GOP officials charged with trying to sell him a spot on the Republican mayoral ballot.
But the fact that Isaacs engaged in such a discussion at all — during a Feb. 14 luncheon with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Smith associate — makes him unfit for office, activists said.
“I wouldn’t want him as my political leader,” said Ed Rollins, campaign chairman for former President Ronald Reagan. “It’s hard to be viable after that.”
Some Manhattan GOP veterans considered Isaacs’ actions an embarrassment.
But state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox defended him. “It is well known in Republican circles that Isaacs absolutely did the right thing as a citizen and lawyer and reported to the federal authorities the full contents of what happened at that meeting,” Cox said.
Isaacs has been a prominent backer of John Catsimatidis’ campaign for mayor. “I don’t think he did anything wrong,” the supermarket mogul said.
Asked if Isaacs should remain as Manhattan leader, he said, “It’s up for Republicans of Manhattan who vote for him.”
Isaacs insisted: “I never accepted any retainer. I never accepted any bribe. I have never been charged.”