De Blasio’s inconvenient truth about sexual-harassment complaints

Did Mayor de Blasio tell an inconvenient truth Wednesday when he griped about a “hyper-complaint dynamic” at the Department of Education?

Hizzoner was aiming to deflect criticism over the fact that less than 2 percent of the 471 sexual-harassment allegations filed at DOE since he took office were substantiated by investigators.

But in the process, he seemed to lash out at teachers — and violate a sacred duty among progressives, especially in the #MeToo era: Never question accusers.

It’s “well-known” that “we get a certain number of complaints that are not real,” said de Blasio. Indeed, “I’m not even sure it’s ever about sexual harassment.” He cited many complainants’ “ulterior motives.”

Yikes. His supporters, including in the teachers union, were furious.

No worries: De Blasio’s office hastily tweeted out a statement that “every single person who has the courage to come forward with a sexual-harassment complaint deserves to be believed” — i.e., the complete opposite of what he’d said earlier.

Still, it leaves you wondering: Does the mayor know something about teachers he won’t say publicly? Are rules set by the union, perhaps, or its readiness to back teachers in legal disputes fueling a climate where grievances and complaints are a knee-jerk reaction to anything teachers dislike?

Or is there really a serious problem with sexual-harassment at DOE — and with legitimate accusations not being substantiated?

As The Post reports, critics say DOE’s investigative system was set up in 2007 to keep complaints in-house and away from the more aggressive federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In other words, it was designed to fail.

Whatever the case, the city seems to have a problem. Actually, so does de Blasio.

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