Earlier this week the David Weprin for Congress campaign sent out a press release announced that 70 non-profit and religious groups in the New York City area would receive more than $5.1 million in Department of Homeland Security  grants.

The release struck us and several readers as curious, since as a member of the state Assembly, Weprin has very little control over federal dollars. We reached out to the Weprin campaign, and his spokeswoman, Elizabeth Kerr, replied there  Weprin held workshop to help the dozens of groups within his assembly district that received the funds apply for the grants and advocated on their behalf through the New York Department of Homeland Security.

And it is worth noting that Weprin jumped on the news of the grants as well as part of a larger effort to make the race about the role of the federal government, since his Republican opponent for the seat formerly held by Anthony Weiner, has called for slashing the government by 35 percent.

This morning, Turner jumped on the release, calling it “bizarre” and “unethical” since Weprin never served in Congress.

“This is a career politician at his most pathetic,” said Turner campaign spokesman William O’Reilly. “In an attempt to reap political points for homeland security dollars he had nothing to do with, David Weprin’s campaign makes an announcement that is supposed to come from the federal government.  This was a blatantly unethical thing to do and Mr. Weprin knows it.”

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