Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo should not investigate the financing of the proposed Islamic community center near ground zero, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Tuesday, reiterating his support for the project.

“I think it’s a terrible precedent,” he said. “You don’t want them investigating donations to religious organizations, and there’s no reason for the government to do so.”

Mr. Bloomberg made his remarks about the controversial development project, known as Park51, in response to questions about a Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday that found voters in New York State deeply divided, with more than 70 percent of them wanting Mr. Cuomo to investigate the project’s financing.

New York Times, 31 August 2010

But Bloomberg would say that, wouldn’t he? After all, according to Robert Spencer, the Mayor’s stand against Islamophobic hysteria over the “Ground Zero mosque” is motivated exclusively by concern for his own business interests in the Middle East.