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

A House Democrat who ranted about defending democracy on the anniversary of the Jan.6 Capitol riot is facing a reprimand after allegedly trying to cheat in a party election.Rep.

Adriano Espaillat may be suspended from or even kicked out of the Manhattan Democratic Party Wednesday after an ethics probe found he and three cronies engaged in “misconduct” in a 2023 vote for chairman, the second highest position within the party.Espaillat backed Assemblyman Harvey Epstein for the role while the congressman’s rival, Manhattan Democratic party leader Keith Wright, backed Nico Minerva — who eventually won the post after an Oct.5, 2023 party committee election.But Espaillat and three fellow Assembly District 72 leaders — Manny De Los Santos, Maria Morillo, and Mariel De La Cruz — failed to report 23 votes for Minerva on their turf.“District Leaders Adriano Espaillat, Manny De Los Santos, Maria Morillo, and Mariel De La Cruz violated multiple provisions of the New York County Democratic Party Rules through vote manipulation, improper check-in procedures, intimidation tactics, improper filling of vacancies, and obstruction of accountability mechanisms,” a report by the internal ethics committee concluded.The ethics report acknowledged assertions by Espaillat and allies that there were administrative miscues by the party leadership during the election — but the probe concluded that didn’t absolve their misconduct.The party’s executive committee will vote Wednesday on whether to accept the findings of the ethics report and punish Espaillat by taking one of its three recommended actions — including banning him and his allies from ever holding a party position again, suspending them for 10 years or adding two district leader seats to AD 72 who are not from Espaillat’s political club to dilute his power.A suspension or expulsion is unlikely, sources told The Post — and party insiders could also opt to issue a public reprimand.“Is there going to be ac...