A judge yesterday ordered the feds to identify the suspected “straw donors” to embattled city Comptroller John Liu’s planned mayoral campaign for the defense in the case.
The move came after a lawyer for Liu’s former campaign treasurer, Jia “Jenny” Hou, said he needed extra time to investigate the names.
“I don’t think this is a hide-the-ball kind of case,” said Manhattan federal Judge Richard Sullivan, who ordered the disclosure by Dec. 14.
Prosecutor Brian Jacobs said about 100 Liu donors were being investigated for possibly illegally funneling campaign contributions to him.
“At this point, all 100 could possibly be straw donors,” he said.
Hou and Liu supporter Xing Wu “Oliver” Pan are charged with scheming to funnel illegal donations into Liu’s political war chest and obtain public matching funds from the city Campaign Finance Board.
Their trial is set to start on Feb. 4.