Mayoral candidate Bo Dietl held a press conference today, his first since giving up his court battle seeking reinstatement to the Republican Party. Speaking in front of his office on West 34th Street Dietl gave an impassioned defense against unflattering press accounts of some of his business activities as a private investigator. He said that accounts of his working for Steve Bannon and Roger Ailes were false and that his work for Fox has been misrepresented. He also asserted that his role in the James Rackover murder case has been overstated, saying that he briefly assisted Jeffery Rackover but would not and did not in any way assist accused killer James Rackover.
Dietl plugged a Facebook poll he conducted that produced a majority supporting him in a three-way race with Bill de Blasio and Paul Massey. Such unscientific polls are widely regarded as unreliable, but Dietl nonetheless seized on the positive result as a significant marker. Dietl’s press conference was held shortly before Paul Massey’s surprise withdrawal from the race. In a later conversation Dietl laughed and suggested that perhaps his Facebook poll results pushed Massey to exit the race. Dietl also released a copy of his new voter registration form, changing his registration to Democratic. (That registration will not allow him to run in a Democratic primary until 2018, however.)
Massey’s sudden exit seemingly ended any serious competition in the Republican primary, although it may cause some renewed interest in Dietl among Republicans unsatisfied with the leading candidate. In a separate conversation late today Dietl suggested that there is some meaningful renewed Republican interest in granting him a Wilson-Pakula, but didn’t say who has expressed such interest. He did say that he “would definitely explore the possibility of accepting a Republican Wilson-Pakula.” He also expressed interest in seeking to replace Massey as the Independence Party candidate, but said that he hasn’t yet taken any steps toward doing so.
Video:
Here is Dietl’s full press conference: