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Controversial De Blasio Aide Finally Out After Months of Scandal

Rachel Noerdlinger takes leave of absence

Rachel Noerdlinger
Rachel Noerdlinger / AP
November 18, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration is parting ways with top aide Rachel Noerdlinger after months of standing by her despite multiple controversies.

Noerdlinger announced on Monday that she would be taking a leave of absence from her $170,000 position as chief of staff for New York City's First Lady Chirlane McCray, according to the New York Times.

The decision follows months of scandals revolving around Noerdlinger, including a current relationship with a cop-killing drug dealer and her own calls for retaliation against a police union.

The most recent incident came over the weekend, when Noerdlinger's son was arrested on charges of trespassing late last Friday. An attorney for Noerdlinger told the New York Post that she called de Blasio on Saturday morning to alert him about the situation, but that he "obviously took no action."

On Monday, however, the New York Post revealed that Noerdlinger spent more than an hour at de Blasio's Gracie Mansion residence over the weekend, though administration officials maintain that the meeting was a "regularly scheduled meeting" and had nothing to do with the arrest.

Noerdlinger's son has previously voiced opinions such as "I’m convinced all white people are the devil’’ and saying cops are "Pigs always killing people."

Even following Noerdlinger's leave of absence, De Blasio maintains that she has been a good public servant and is comparing the media scrutiny of her as a "repulsive" return to McCarthyism.

"We saw this in the 1950s, we’ve seen this throughout the history of this country," said de Blasio. "If someone wants to smear people and use that for political purposes, there’s a pretty easy playbook for doing it. It’s repulsive."

"I think the notion that somehow, in modern society, not just your own actions, but your girlfriend or boyfriend, your own teenage child, somehow all of this is fair game in the public discourse, I think something's gone wrong here that we really need to look at."

Published under: Bill de Blasio