Second, I have to say I've allowed this Adams guy too much leeway - suspecting he's a dirtbag, but not knowing much about him, and thinking there's a possible "vast right wing conspiracy" angle to it.
Nope. Apparently the guy's just a fuckin' dirtbag.
And while we have to wait for the system to run its course, if they put all their little ducks in a row, and a jury turns him up guilty, then I hope they burn that fucker to the ground.
There's nothing worse than some dick in public office indulging himself in whatever corruption Adams is being accused of - which could include accepting campaign money from a foreign government - which could easily be a money laundering scheme.
Money is power, and power makes the corruptible more corruptible.
But - like I said - waiting.
The charges against Adams are expected to be made public Thursday.
Eric Adams calls federal charges 'entirely false' after indictment
NEW YORK — Federal prosecutors have indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams, making him the first mayor in city history to be charged while in office.
The dramatic move comes after a lengthy investigation that has dogged the moderate Democrat for nearly a year. The revelation — along with several other law enforcement probes that have led to a spate of high-level resignations — stand to imperil Adams’ 2025 reelection prospects.
Shortly after news of the indictment broke, nearly all of Adams’ competitors called on him to resign.
The investigation is being led by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams. A spokesperson for his office declined to comment.
The specific charges in the sealed indictment were not yet known. Williams is expected to make the charges public Thursday.
Adams huddled with close aides, including former Chief of Staff Frank Carone, in the mayor’s official residence of Gracie Mansion on Wednesday evening, figuring out how to respond to the monumental news, which was rumored for most of the day, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO. As he exited the mansion late Wednesday night, Carone said Adams had not been informed by federal authorities of the pending indictment by the time news broke. Asked to describe Adams’ mindset, Carone replied, “very strong.”
“Sad day for the mayor and for the city,” he said.
Carone said Adams should “never” step down. “He deserves a day in court and he’ll have it,” he added.
After The New York Times first reported the indictment, the mayor preempted Williams’ expected announcement with a statement released Wednesday night in which he proclaimed his innocence and vowed to fight the charges.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” he said. “If I am charged, I am innocent and will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
In a subsequent video released by his office, Adams sought for a second time to get ahead of the details set to be released by prosecutors.
“It is now my belief the federal government plans to charge me with crimes. If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies,” Adams said.
“For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an effort to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty,” Adams continued, referencing the FBI raid on the home of his newly installed interim police commissioner, who took over after the resignation of former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
Caban stepped down after his phone was seized as part of a separate federal investigation.
“I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit,” Adams said.
His declarations did not sway a suite of candidates looking to challenge him for the mayoralty next year.
“The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said in a statement posted on X.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie said the city needs “a leader who is fully focused, without distraction.”
“Today I am calling on him to resign,” he said.
Former Comptroller Scott Stringer made similar remarks.
“There is simply zero chance that the wheels of government will move forward from this full steam ahead. Instead, we are left with a broken down trainwreck of a municipal government,” Stringer said. “The mayor needs to resign for the good of the city.”
State Sen. Jessica Ramos stopped short of calling on Adams to step down, but suggested he has lost the ability to govern.
“Over the past two and a half years, this administration has made the city more expensive, while those close to the mayor have benefited financially,” she said in a statement posted to X. “That’s a betrayal of every hardworking New Yorker.”
While investigations around him have reached a fever pitch, Adams has insisted he will not resign.
“The people of this city elected me to fight for them, and I will stay and fight no matter what,” he said in a statement earlier Wednesday, responding to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s earlier call for his resignation.
If he did step down, New York City’s Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would become acting mayor, and a nonpartisan special election would be held to fill the seat.
“The news of this indictment is itself incredibly serious,” Williams’ spokesperson William Gerlich said in a statement. “As the facts emerge, the public advocate will have more to say.”
Calls for his resignation should come as no surprise. Aside from the obvious political calculations his rivals are applying, there is no precedent in New York City’s history for a mayor to be criminally charged while in City Hall.
“We’ve had some unseemly mayors who have left office before their terms have actually ended,” said Doug Muzzio, a retired Baruch College political science professor. “We’ve never had a mayor with criminal charges. The law-and-order mayor broke the law — allegedly. But they’re not going to indict a sitting mayor unless they have an airtight case.”
Adams and his campaign have maintained the mayor’s innocence for months following a series of FBI raids that targeted figures close to the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
On Nov. 2, federal agents fanned out to multiple locations around the city where they conducted raids and interviews at the homes of several people tied to Adams, including his former campaign treasurer, an aide focused on Turkish relations and a former Turkish Airlines executive who served on Adams’ transition team. Days later, the feds stopped Adams himself on the street and confiscated several electronic devices.
Throughout the process, Adams has maintained he broke no rules.
“It takes a great deal of discipline to defend yourself when you know you have done nothing wrong,” Adams said Aug. 16, a day after The Times reported a second round of subpoenas had gone to the mayor and City Hall earlier in the summer. “But I trust my team.”
That team includes attorneys from WilmerHale — including the mayor’s former chief counsel, Brendan McGuire — who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But his allies were defending him late Wednesday night. Adams has maintained support among prominent Black New Yorkers, including NAACP New York State Conference President Hazel Dukes.
“This is just unreal, and I am angry, and I will stand with him all the way,” said the 92-year-old Wednesday night, who has known Adams for three decades. “He should not resign. He should have his day in court.”
In the past, Adams’ allies had sought to characterize the investigation by Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District, as somehow politically or racially motivated. (Both Adams and Williams are Black.)
“I’ve been telling other people that I thought this was a witch hunt and the FBI’s going too far,” state Sen. Leroy Comrie told POLITICO weeks after the initial FBI raids.
People close to Adams, such as former Gov. David Paterson, have theorized the investigation run by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department is meant as political punishment for Adams’ criticizing Biden’s border policy.
That the U.S. Attorney’s office would bring an indictment within just weeks of a presidential general election is remarkable. It is common practice within the Department of Justice to not take any overt investigative steps in political cases in the run-up to an election — typically known as the 60-day rule.
As POLITICO has previously reported, Adams has traveled to Turkey numerous times and has deep ties to the Turkish diaspora in Brooklyn, where he served as a state senator and then in the largely ceremonial role of Brooklyn borough president before he assumed the mayoralty in 2022.
Adams has already raised millions of dollars for his reelection campaign, and the effect this indictment will have on his efforts remains unclear. Several challengers have already opened campaign accounts, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been watching from afar and may enter the fray should Adams be severely weakened by the forthcoming case.
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