Mamdani’s investigation nominee faces questions on independence

DAYS THE BUDGET IS LATE: 6 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: During his campaign, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani had a historic number of volunteers who canvassed on his behalf. Among them was his pick to lead the Department of Investigation. In February, Mamdani nominated former federal prosecutor Nadia Shihata to lead the investigation department, which acts as a watchdog over city government. On Monday as part of the confirmation process, she faced questions from members of the City Council, who focused particular attention on her prior support of the administration she would be charged with auditing and investigating. Shihata gave $700 to Mamdani’s campaign in four installments last year. She spent a day canvassing for the then-mayoral hopeful. And after graduating from law school 20 years ago, she struck up a friendship with Ramzi Kassem, who is now the mayor’s chief counsel in City Hall and the person who reached out to see if she’d be interested in the job. “How do you compartmentalize that political kinship, if you will, with a role that may have you investigating that very leader and his administration?” asked Council Member David Carr, leader of the body’s Republican caucus. Shihata pushed back, saying the support she offered to her future boss would not cloud her ability to probe city government should she be approved by the Council, which has veto power over the pick. And she clarified that she and Kassem are not close friends, though she did consult him before establishing a law firm after leaving the Department of Justice. “I have investigated people I have supported in the past,” she said in response to Carr’s question. “That has not affected my ability to investigate them and reach conclusions driven by the evidence of the law.” Shihata worked for 11 years as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, which has pursued past public corruption cases in tandem with DOI. Her stint there inc