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Things are only getting worse for New York City’s shady mayor [1]
['Daily Kos Staff']
Date: 2025-02-18
Pressure is building on New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office after an alleged quid pro quo, in which he reportedly offered to cooperate with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in exchange for the dropping of his corruption charges.
And it’s not just Hochul who’s facing calls to hold Adams accountable. Judge Dale Ho, who is presiding over Adams’ bribery case, recently ordered Trump’s Department of Justice to join Adams’ lawyers in court to explain the highly unusual move to dismiss the case.
Ho will meet with the two parties on Wednesday afternoon, but watchdog groups are demanding that the judge conduct an extensive inquiry into whether the DOJ’s actions were done in the public’s interest or simply to secure the mayor’s cooperation with Trump’s effort to deport millions of undocumented immigrants.
This legal and political catastrophe calls into question both Adams’ political future and the impartiality of federal prosecutions under the Trump administration.
Adams, a Democrat, was under federal indictment on five counts, including bribery, fraud, and solicitation of illegal foreign campaign contributions. His trial was scheduled for April, but the DOJ moved to dismiss the case earlier this month.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams at President Donald Trump’s Inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025.
The timing of the dismissal was suspicious: Trump’s leniency toward Adams came after the mayor toyed with switching parties, accusing Democrats of being too lax on immigration.
Following the DOJ’s dismissal, a wave of prosecutors resigned in protest, saying that they refused to cooperate with the Trump administration’s order.
To sign off on the requests for dismissal, the court should be “satisfied that the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial,” Ho said.
As of Tuesday, it’s unclear whether Ho will refuse the dismissal of Adams’ charges.
Even if Ho similarly caves to Trump, it’s possible Adams could still get punished by Hochul, who has the gubernatorial power to remove him from office. Hochul has faced increased pressure from fellow Democrats to remove Adams from office.
She’s slated to host a meeting on Tuesday with “key leaders” to discuss the “path forward” for Adams after four of his eight deputy mayors resigned on Monday, reportedly because they thought the mayor was putting his personal interests above the city’s and is doing Trump’s bidding.
“If they feel unable to serve in City Hall at this time, that raises serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration,” Hochul said in a statement.
She added that the goal of Tuesday’s meeting is to ensure “stability” for New York City.
Since Adams continues to insist that he will not be leaving office on his own accord, all eyes are on Hochul. So far, she’s stopped short of calling on the mayor to step down, but Tuesday’s meeting is the strongest indication yet that she’s actively considering removing him.
“In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,” she said in the statement, adding that her priority is the “well-being of my 8.3 million constituents who live in New York City.”
Meanwhile, a legion of high-profile New York Democrats have expressed doubt that Adams can continue as mayor and have even called for his resignation, including New York Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
On Tuesday, Scott Stringer, former comptroller and current mayoral candidate, implored Hochul to remove Adams from office.
“New York City cannot endure this chaos any longer. The stakes and risks are too high for this to continue any longer,” he wrote in a letter to Hochul.
Should Hochul remove Adams from office—or if he resigns, which is doubtful—Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who has suggested that he’s prepared to serve, would become acting mayor. Williams would then be required to call a special election within 80 days to officially elect a new mayor for the remainder of Adams’ term, which runs through Dec. 31.
The mayoral election would still take place as planned in November.
At question is whether Adams really did offer to cooperate with Trump’s deportations in exchange for a dismissal of his charges. While Adams denied this, he’s already working in tandem with the Trump administration.
This past Thursday, for instance, Adams agreed to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to work at the Rikers Island jail complex.
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