FBI said to probe allegations that Gray campaign staff concealed donations

Federal officials investigating Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 2010 campaign have focused recently on allegations that campaign staff members encouraged some supporters to donate by promising that their contributions would not be reported, several people familiar with the investigation said.

The promises were allegedly made to city employees and contractors who feared that then-Mayor Adrian M. Fenty’s administration would retaliate if their contributions to Gray’s campaign became known, said three people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment candidly about the investigation. At the time, Gray was challenging Fenty for the Democratic nomination for mayor.

Graphic

A growing list of Gray investigations

Post archives: The mayor’s campaign

Officials are conducting an investigation into aspects of Gray’s 2010 mayoral campaign.

• Dec. 5, 2012 - FBI said to probe allegations that Gray campaign staff concealed donations
• Nov. 17, 2012 - Gray campaign aide says he voiced concerns over funding
• July 22, 2012 - Gray’s 2010 campaign had database of public-housing residents
• July 18, 2012 - Gray should resign, most D.C. residents say
• July 14, 2012 - Gray: at work while under siege
• July 11, 2012 - Gray knew of campaign finance violations in January, sources say
• July 10, 2012 - Vast ‘shadow campaign’ said to have aided Gray
• July 9, 2012 - Jeanne Clarke Harris charged in ongoing probe of Gray campaign
• Oct. 15, 2011 - Gray campaign under vigorous federal scrutiny
• July 18, 2011 - Gray campaign accepted cash donations above legal limit, review shows

FBI investigators are trying to determine whether donations were concealed in violation of campaign laws, according to several people familiar with the investigation. City law requires the disclosure of all campaign donations to the Office of Campaign Finance.

Separately, The Washington Post has discovered discrepancies between an internal campaign list of nearly 2,750 contributions and reports that the Gray campaign filed with the campaign finance agency. The names of dozens of those donors do not appear in documents filed with the agency, according to a Post analysis.

The federal investigation — entering its 21st month — continues to hang over Gray, who made promises of greater integrity and transparency during his campaign for mayor. The mayor has said repeatedly that he will not comment on the investigation because it is ongoing. But in a brief interview Tuesday, he said he was surprised by the most recent allegations. “I’m astounded,” said Gray, who has denied any wrongdoing. “I’m incredulous.”

More people interviewed

In recent weeks, investigators have interviewed Barbara Lang, president and chief executive of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce and a new board member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, according to two other people, who have knowledge of the probe and who requested anonymity to speak freely.

Investigators asked Lang whether the Gray campaign chairman, Lorraine Green, told her that contributions from hesitant donors could be accepted without being reported, the two people said. Investigators also talked to Lang’s husband, Gerald, who was a member of the Gray campaign finance committee.

A. Scott Bolden, an attorney for the Langs, said they were interviewed by the FBI, but he declined to give details of the meetings.

“I can confirm that my clients, like several others, have been contacted by the FBI in connection with the Gray investigation and that both of them were open, honest and forthright in their interviews and are mere witnesses — not targets or subjects of the investigation. I remain confident that their status will not change,” Bolden said in a statement. “Furthermore, my understanding of those interviews is that neither of them knew very much and have little, if any, information to provide the U.S. Attorney concerning the Gray campaign’s fundraising operation.”

Thomas C. Green, an attorney for Lorraine Green, no relation, declined to comment.