Emma Wolfe, one of Mayor de Blasio’s top advisers, has been noticeably absent and harder to reach over the last four months while embroiled in a federal and state probe of his fund-raising.
Wolfe, de Blasio’s director of intergovernmental affairs, is one of several aides now under scrutiny.
“Emma’s been pulled out of a lot of meetings,” said a city government employee who is typically there with her. “She’s his closest confidante in many ways. How effective can she be in that role?”
For the last two to three months, Wolfe has missed meetings with a top government official — meetings she typically attended in the past, the source added.
Another political insider said Wolfe stopped going to meetings he would see her at four to five months ago.
“It has to be hard [for the mayor]. You lose your sounding board,” said the source. “You lose your political compass, to some degree.”
Wolfe, who worked as de Blasio’s chief of staff when he was public advocate, is regarded as “indispensable” to the mayor, according to a council member who recalled a recent, unexplained weeklong silence.
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“Her role for him cannot be overstated . . . She’s able to close the door and talk to him in a way almost no one else can.”
Another council member said he abruptly stopped receiving calls from Wolfe in November.
But de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips described talk of Wolfe being absent more frequently as “absolutely not true.”
“I work with her and have access to her schedule — in addition to seeing her work myself,” he said.
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