Officials criticize DOJ move to dismiss federal charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Following New York City Mayor Eric Adams' public address Tuesday confirming that Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) had directed federal prosecutors to dismiss a federal criminal case against him, backlash from community advocates and lawmakers alike came hard and fast.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams criticized the move and Adams' proposed cooperation with deportation efforts on Monday, saying that despite Adams' past comments on wanting his day in court, he "sidestepped that system using the privilege and power that so few people have access to."
"According to the Department of Justice's recent directive, Mayor Adams adopted a strategy of selling out marginalized New Yorkers and our city’s values to avoid personal and legal accountability," Williams said. "Well, it worked. I hope it was worth it."
In Tuesday's press conference, Adams again proclaimed his innocence, saying he never traded his power for personal benefit and calling the charges and allegations against him “baseless.”
“I thank the justice department for its honesty,” he said. “Now, we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of this city. It’s time to move forward.”
"Justice is dead in America," says state senator
With the Democratic primary for New York City mayor slated for June 24, challengers to Mayor Eric Adams have already drawn lines of attack to present to voters. In the summer, New Yorkers will vote in a ranked-choice system, choosing in order their top candidates for the city’s top job. Adams was already seen as vulnerable in his re-election campaign, with polling showing the moderate Democrat as deeply unpopular in the heavily Democratic city.
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who represents central Brooklyn, said “Justice is dead in America,” as he called for a special prosecutor to handle the case against Adams.
In a morning briefing near City Hall, city Comptroller Brad Lander, another challenger, said he planned “to lay out the dangers to New York City in light of news that Mayor Eric Adams' personal and legal fate is now 100% beholden to the whims of President Donald Trump.”
One voice absent from the latest critiques of Adams is his most formidable challenger, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Polling shows Cuomo, who resigned from the governor’s office after sexual harassment allegations, as a clear favorite for mayor. An Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey in early February gave him three times more support than Adams.
A spokesperson for Cuomo didn’t immediately respond to an email request for comment.
NYC may become "beholden" to Trump: Comptroller Brad Lander
Comptroller Brad Lander, a Democratic candidate for mayor, said the federal corruption charges against Adams were warranted, though said New Yorkers can render their judgment in the Democratic primary in June. But in the meantime, he said, the decision by the Department of Justice just leaves Adams and, by extension, New York City federal funding, beholden to the Trump administration.
“When the president harms or threatens New York City, the mayor will be unable to fight back,” Lander said outside of the David Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building. “Because he clearly cares about staying out of prison more than he cares about the well-being of New Yorkers.”
Lander said this extends to New York being threatened with service cuts or cuts to school and hospital funding.
“New Yorkers demand leadership that’s accountable to them and not to President Trump,” he said.
The day before, Adams was seen gathering city commissioners at the municipal building. He reportedly instructed them not to criticize Trump, and not to interfere with immigration enforcement. Paste BN reported on city hospitals issuing guidance to doctors and health professionals that staff said appeared to give immigration agents a green light to enter facilities to target people in the country illegally.
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Christopher Cann, Paste BN