Meet the parrot-in-chief.
For the second straight week, Public Advocate Letitia James deferred to the mayor in a case where his actions have come under considerable scrutiny.
Asked about video footage showing Mayor de Blasio’s security detail apparently speeding and rolling through stop signs — just days after Hizzoner unveiled a sweeping traffic safety plan — James referred reporters to City Hall and NYPD statements.
“I defer to the comments of the mayor, as well as the [police] commissioner,” she said while hurrying out of City Hall late Friday. “I believe [NYPD] Commissioner [Bill] Bratton spoke about NYPD protocol… And clearly the mayor of the city of New York made a statement and I ask that you refer to his statement as well.”
Bratton and de Blasio both cited police security protocol to explain the apparent traffic violations – including changing lanes without signaling and blocking a pedestrian walkway.
Last Friday, when asked about de Blasio calling a top NYPD official after a prominent bishop and campaign supporter got arrested in Brooklyn, James also refused to stray from the official line.
“I defer to the decision of the mayor of the city of New York,” she repeated four times.
The bishop was spared a night in jail shortly after the mayor’s phone call.
James is paid $165,000 per year to serve as a government watchdog and ombudsman.
After getting elected in November, James insisted that she could do the job properly despite her close ties to the Mayor.
“He is an ally and he is a friend,” she told NY1 news at the time. “But nonetheless, putting that aside, I have a job to do. And New Yorkers elected me to be checks and balances on Mayor Bill de Blasio.”