Mayor Bill de Blasio is fighting back after the state Board of Elections accused his team of violating campaign finance laws two years ago.
On Saturday, a source told NY1 the board found that the mayor's team circumvented donation limits for State Senate campaigns by funneling money through county political committees, which have much higher limits.
The board also suggested that those actions may have been criminal.
The mayor's camp says it acted well within the limits of state law.
Now his campaign lawyer, Lawrence Laufer, has sent a harshly-worded letter to the board's chief enforcement counsel.
It says in part, "Beyond the legal and regulatory issues implicated by your office’s memorandum being improperly leaked to the press, your memorandum reflects either a shocking lack of understanding or a complete disregard of the most fundamental aspects of the state’s election laws."
Laufer also says he has filed a Freedom of Information request to see if the board's memo was leaked illegally.
The letter was also sent to the Manhattan district attorney's office.
NY1 has reached out to the state Board of Elections and the Manhattan DA for comment.