Mayor de Blasio blamed his lawyers for an improper loan between his political fundraising accounts that drew scrutiny from federal regulators.

On Friday—the same day de Blasio quit his quixotic presidential bid—the Federal Election Commission sent the mayor’s campaign treasurer a letter demanding answers about why he billed $53,000 in campaign expenses to a state account he controls, NY Fairness PAC.

De Blasio’s 2020 campaign reported the transfers as debt, effectively allowing it to circumvent strict limits on federal political campaigns.

“I don’t know exactly which lawyers, but different lawyers that we worked with advised that approach because we were working on both kinds of elections,” he said Monday, presumably referring to his 2020 account and NY Fairness PAC, which supports local races.

The mayor, speaking at an unrelated City Hall press conference about retirement, said his campaign has repaid the five-figure loan.

De Blasio referred further questions about the fundraising irregularities to an advisor who did not immediately return messages.

This is not the first time the mayor’s faced scrutiny over campaign coffers. Two years ago he skirted charges by state and federal prosecutors for trading access to City Hall for donations made to a nonprofit controlled by his aides, the Campaign for One New York, which has since been closed.

On Monday the mayor insisted he needs NY Fairness PAC and a federal version of that account to advocate for national policies that impact New Yorkers—even though they’ve drawn ire from good government groups.

“I will keep fighting on the national level for the changes we need for New York City and for our country and you have to have a vehicle to work through so that’s why were going to keep it going,” de Blasio said.