Michelle Basch, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – While new information suggests D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray knew about illegal backroom fundraising that prosecutors say helped him take office, two of his top campaign advisers have come to his defense.

“As far as we know, Vince Gray didn’t know – he was as much in the dark about this as we were, and I certainly hope that was the case,” Mo Elleithee, a senior adviser to Gray’s 2010 campaign, tells WTOP.

“He was betrayed just as much as the people in the District were by these bad actors. Many of them were his longtime friends and associates.”

In a report published Wednesday, sources tell The Washington Post that Gray learned of the unreported campaign funds during a January meeting with campaign consultant Jeanne Clarke Harris.

In an opinion piece also published Wednesday in the Post, Elleithee and fellow Gray campaign adviser Steve McMahon say they are disgusted by revelations of wrongdoing that are stealing the spotlight.

“His (Gray’s) administration is doing a lot of good things,” says Elleithee. “I don’t believe his administration has been corrupt.”

Elleithee is currently working as a senior advisor to former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine’s U.S. Senate campaign.

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