Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who railed about ‘defending democracy’ after 2020, faces discipline in his own party for election interference

A House Democrat who ranted astir defending ideology connected the day of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is facing a reprimand aft allegedly trying to cheat successful a enactment election.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat whitethorn beryllium suspended from oregon adjacent kicked retired of the Manhattan Democratic Party Wednesday aft an morals probe recovered helium and 3 cronies engaged successful “misconduct” successful a 2023 ballot for chairman, the 2nd highest presumption wrong the party.

Espaillat backed Assemblyman Harvey Epstein for the relation portion the congressman’s rival, Manhattan Democratic enactment person Keith Wright, backed Nico Minerva — who yet won the station aft an Oct. 5, 2023 enactment committee election.

But Espaillat and 2 chap Assembly District 72 leaders — Manny De Los Santos, Maria Morillo, and Mariel De La Cruz — failed to study 23 votes for Minerva connected their turf.

“District Leaders Adriano Espaillat, Manny De Los Santos, Maria Morillo, and Mariel De La Cruz violated aggregate provisions of the New York County Democratic Party Rules done ballot manipulation, improper check-in procedures, intimidation tactics, improper filling of vacancies, and obstruction of accountability mechanisms,” a study by the interior morals committee concluded.

The morals study acknowledged assertions by Espaillat and allies that determination were administrative miscues by the enactment enactment during the predetermination — but the probe concluded that didn’t absolve their misconduct.

The party’s enforcement committee volition ballot connected whether to judge the findings of the morals study and punish Espaillat by taking 1 of its 3 recommended actions — including banning him and his allies from ever holding a enactment presumption again, suspending them for 10 years oregon adding 2 territory person seats to AD 72 who are not from Espaillat’s governmental nine to dilute his power.

A suspension oregon expulsion is unlikely, sources told The Post — and enactment insiders could besides opt to contented a nationalist reprimand.

“Is determination going to beryllium accountability oregon not? I anticipation we’re the enactment that follows the rules,” enactment caput Barry Weinberg said.

Weinberg accused Espaillat and his allies of engaging successful “blatant and brazen elector suppression.”

Espaillat declined to straight comment.

But Harlem enactment District Leader Corey Ortega, a spokesperson for the Espaillat-backed New York County Coalition for Reform, responded connected the congressman’s behalf — and claimed the morals probe was a kangaroo tribunal engineered by enactment person Wright.

“Keith Wright’s actions correspond a blatant governmental purge—weaponizing the Democratic instrumentality to soundlessness Latino territory leaders who disagree with him and helium can’t region done a antiauthoritarian process,” Ortega said.

“Wright’s past reflects a accordant signifier of exclusion and retaliation. Such unconstitutional attacks whitethorn acceptable the Trump medication but they surely person nary spot successful our City’s Democratic Party.”

He besides said 2 of the 5 members of the morals committee disagreed with the report’s conclusions.

But adjacent those 2 committee members — Vanessa Aronson and Gabriel Panek — agreed with the bulk that Espaillat and his allies engaged successful immoderate misconduct and should look “consequences.”

The duo recommended a ballot connected whether to reprimand the offenders.

There’s agelong been simmering hostility betwixt Espaillat and Wright.

Espaillat defeated Wright successful the Democratic superior to regenerate retiring Charlie Rangel successful 2016 successful a caller north-Manhattan/Bronx territory that was erstwhile predominantly  achromatic territory and present has a Latino majority.

The congressman’s predetermination woes travel aft helium blasted supporters of President Trump for engaging successful a convulsive riot astatine the Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021 to situation erstwhile President Joe Biden’s 2020 triumph implicit their candidate.

“Today, we intermission to bespeak connected the convulsive onslaught that occurred astatine the United States Capitol 4 years agone arsenic portion of an organized effort to halt the peaceful transportation of power,” Espaillat said connected the four-year anniversary of the Capitol riot.

“We recommit our efforts to support and support our ideology to uphold from those who would undermine oregon extremity it,” helium said.