NY governor won't oust Mayor Eric Adams but vows stricter oversight
NEW YORK − Gov. Kathy Hochul will not oust embattled Mayor Eric Adams from office but will attempt to impose strict new guidelines on his administration, she announced in a news conference Thursday afternoon.
The guardrails she proposed could curtail the mayor's independence as he awaits a federal judge's decision on a Justice Department motion to drop corruption charges against him.
At a hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove pressed his argument that the charges, filed in September during the Biden administration, were keeping Adams from devoting full attention to illegal immigration and violent crime. Ho has not yet issued a ruling.
Hochul said though she is troubled by accusations against Adams, including claims he was involved in a "quid pro quo with the Trump administration," she would let the public decide Adams' fate at the polls in June, when the mayor's seat is next up for grabs.
"I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves," she said.
Adams in a statement after the governor's announcement on Thursday said he was elected by the people of New York City and its working-class communities to "uphold their values."
“While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong,” Adams said. “I look forward to continuing those conversations.”
Hochul has been under intense pressure to remove Adams from office. But a group of Black lawmakers, in a letter to Hochul, disagreed. “As Black legislators we have seen this over and over again: double standards and unfair process when it comes to our leaders," the letter says in part. "If a move against the mayor is made without a justifiable legal reason, our communities will never forget it.”
Some proposals would require legislative approval
Hochul's plan includes legislation to create a special inspector general for New York City affairs within the office of the state inspector general in an effort to protect city investigations from potential interference, she said.
She also wants to grant the city comptroller, public advocate and City Council speaker the independent authority to use outside counsel to sue the federal government if the mayor is unwilling to do so.
"The whole of city government should not be reliant on City Hall for legal cases where the people of the city may be under attack by the federal government," Hochul said.
Lastly, Hochul proposed to expand funding for the state’s comptroller.
The proposals were first reported earlier Thursday by the New York Times, which reported that some would require approval from the City Council and the State Legislature. Supporters of Adams, or lawmakers unwilling to see the state take a greater role in city affairs, could push back on the plan.
Adams says he's a victim
Adams, a former NYPD officer and Brooklyn Borough president now running for a second mayoral term, vehemently denies any wrongdoing.
“I’m a victim of a very overaggressive investigation,” he told Spectrum News NY1 on Wednesday. “And I’m telling you it hurts, and I’m a victim. And now that victimization is playing out again.”
Trump administration wants Adams to fight its immigration battle
Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University Law School, said Bove made it clear at the hearing that the motion to dismiss "has no legal basis but was based wholly on political reasons and forcing and coercing Adams to comply with the government‘s demands" regarding immigration enforcement.
Gershman said dropping the charges without prejudice was "in effect a sledgehammer over Adams needed to keep him subservient to the government’s demands." Still, Gershman said he believes Ho will side with the Justice Department.
"I can’t believe that he has any options other than dismissing the charges against Adams however much he believes that the government’s conduct reeks of misconduct," Gershman said.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Trump's Justice Department appointees appear to be "hypocritically weaponizing the department in ways that they so relentlessly blame Democrats for doing." But Tobias acknowledged that federal judges "accord some deference to DOJ prosecutorial decisions."
Bove has been dismissive of the multiple federal prosecutors who resigned rather than file the motion to drop the charges. After the hearing, he issued a statement doubling down on his position.
“We’re going to do great things to make America safe again,” the statement said. "For those who do not support our critical mission, I understand there are templates for resignation letters available on the websites of the New York Times and CNN.”
Calls for Adams' resignation are mounting
Several New York leaders and organizations called on Adams to resign.
"His obvious quid pro quo dealings, cooperation with ICE, top staff resignations and subservience to Donald Trump prove he is unfit to lead," Brooklyn Young Democrats declared in a social media post Thursday.
Brooklyn State Sen. Zellnor Myrie accused Adams and Trump of "blatantly attempting to subvert justice" and calling for a special prosecutor.
"Eric Adams sacrificed our local government’s autonomy to save his own skin," Myrie said in a statement. “Despite what Donald Trump and Eric Adams might think, they are not above the law. ... If Eric Adams truly cared about New York City, he would resign from office − and he would have done it months ago.”
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander on Thursday joined the chorus of voices calling for Adams to step down but expressed support for the governor's proposed guidelines, which would also expand Lander's power to take the federal government to court.
“While the best solution to restore public trust would be for Mayor Adams to resign and to keep the four deputy mayors in place instead, Governor Hochul’s new guardrails are useful to keep New York City moving forward in these precarious times," Lander said.
What charges does Adams face?
Adams, 64, was charged in a September indictment with one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
He is also charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, which each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
The indictment claims Adams and his aides repeatedly took steps to "shield his solicitation and acceptance of these benefits from public scrutiny." Adams did not disclose the travel benefits and sometimes agreed to pay a nominal fee to create the appearance of having paid for travel, according to prosecutors.
The mayor is also accused of creating and having aides create fake paper trails and of deleting messages with others involved in his misconduct.
“As alleged, Mayor Adams abused his position as this city’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions," then-U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said when the indictment was unsealed. Williams, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, resigned in November after Trump's election.
As Adams awaits the judge's decision in federal court, he is also facing a new complaint before the Federal Election Commission. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit government watchdog group, filed the complaint Tuesday over his corruption allegations.
"While the Department of Justice (DOJ) has moved to dismiss the indictment for political reasons having nothing to do with the strength of the case, the FEC is a wholly independent agency with its own civil enforcement mandate," the Campaign Legal Center said. "The FEC now has the opportunity and obligation to protect the integrity of our elections by holding Mayor Adams accountable."
Bove, who has pushed for the dismissal of Adams' charges, is the subject of a separate complaint filed by American Oversight on Thursday to the Attorney Grievance Committee in New York. The Washington D.C.-based watchdog accuses Bove of letting the mayor "off the hook for serious, evidence-based criminal charges" in exchange for political favors.
How could the governor remove the mayor?
Adams continued with standard mayoral activities Thursday, conducting a staff meeting, delivering remarks to an Albanian Islamic Cultural Center’s interfaith breakfast and making announcements on public safety and quality of life issues around the city.
The city charter does allow the governor to remove a mayor from office "after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense. Pending the preparation and disposition of charges, the governor may suspend the mayor for a period not exceeding 30 days."
So Hochul would need to provide the mayor with a written complaint laying out the accusations that are prompting the ouster. Adams then would be afforded some type of public hearing to defend himself against the claims. How that would work is not immediately clear, and there is no precedent for it.
Who would become acting mayor?
If Hochul decides at some point to remove Adams, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would become acting mayor.
The timeline is important because the mayoral election will take place this year. If Adams is removed from office before March 26, or 90 days before the June 24 primary election, Williams would need to call a special election. The winner would serve as mayor until the newly elected mayor takes office in January.