New York City council members on Friday called for an investigation into former Mayor Bill de Blasio's coronavirus response chief after he was caught on hidden camera bragging about going to drug-fueled sex parties with hundreds of attendees during the pandemic.
Dr. Jay Varma, who served as a senior health adviser to Mayor de Blasio during the pandemic, made the admission in a secretly recorded conversation with an undercover investigator for conservative podcaster Steven Crowder's show. “Mug Club”.
In a letter to Council Speakers Adrienne Adams, Gayle Brewer and Lynn Schulman, they urged Democratic City Council members to grill Verma, who said the video was “taken out of context” but did not explicitly deny that a party took place, as well as Mayor de Blasio and then-Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Choksi.
“Given the enormous impact the pandemic has had on our city, we are disgusted by the blatant hypocrisy and recklessness of public officials entrusted with such great responsibility,” the letter said.
City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) also wrote letters to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon calling for a full investigation into Varma's comments about a drug-fueled sex rave that drew 200 people in the basement of a Wall Street bank in the summer of 2020.
“There was accountability when Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government did something similar and we need the same level of accountability here,” Holden told the Post.
Assemblyman Joe Borrelli (R-Staten Island) slammed Varma's video comments, saying his “expert opinions have shocked businesses and caused great harm to thousands of New Yorkers.”
“All the while he was playing 'Who's in my mouth' and running through lines like he did at the Fyre Festival. Dr Varma deserves to be slapped in public, but after a few slaps, he might like it,” Borelli said.
Assemblywoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) questioned how Governor Varma can issue orders to New Yorkers and called for immediate action.
“It's time for COVID-19 response leaders to face the consequences, just like every other New Yorker, when they commit fraud on this scale,” she said.
Assemblywoman Vicki Paladino (R-Queens) said she was “appalled and disgusted” by Varma's comments.
The edited clips of hidden camera footage were all shot in New York between July 27 and Aug. 14 and were released by Crowder on Thursday.
The Washington Post has not reviewed the full, unedited recording.
Varma, who no longer works at City Hall, acknowledged to The Washington Post that he “attended two private gatherings” between April 2020 and May 2021, but slammed Chowder as “not credible.”
“In those private conversations that were secretly recorded and spliced together, chopped up and taken out of context, I referenced events that occurred four years ago. Between April 2020 and May 2021, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using my best judgment at the time,” he said in a statement.
The specific dates of the two private gatherings are unclear, as is what offences Varma may have committed at the time.
The Post reached out to the City Council, New York City, the NYPD and the District Attorney's Office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
