On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump The New York mayor said he would consider pardoning Eric Adams if he is convicted of charges related to bribery and illegally soliciting foreign campaign donations.
“I think he’s been treated pretty unfairly,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort. “Despite the seriousness of it all, namely his admission that he did not know the specifics of the Adams case, that did not stop Trump from downplaying the mayor’s alleged crimes as an “airplane upgrade.”
But anyone who has even glanced at Adams’ lengthy and comical indictment will know that the charges levied against the embattled mayor are much more serious than Trump’s character. These charges include bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. My colleague Anna Merlan reported:
The indictment alleges that Adams has received “improperly valuable benefits” from wealthy Turkish nationals and officials connected to the Turkish government for at least a decade, dating back to his time as Brooklyn borough president.
These benefits included luxury hotel stays, airplane ticket upgrades, free meals at fine restaurants, and “luxury entertainment” during frequent trips to Turkey.
Additionally, he and his mayoral campaign have shamelessly and happily accepted what any reasonable person could interpret as bribes from the Turkish public, receiving large illicit donations through straw donors and pressuring the fire department to approve luxury items in return. It is claimed that favorable treatment was provided. The high-rise building that houses the Turkish consulate suspended ties with a Turkish community center in Brooklyn that Turkey said was hostile to the government and refused to make a statement on the Armenian Genocide memorial. Just because “Turkish officials” asked him not to.
“I think he was treated well. It’s very interesting when he essentially opposed what was happening with immigrants coming in. And he made some pretty strong statements about how this is not sustainable,” Trump said. Immigrants arriving in New York prompted retaliation from the Justice Department. “I told him he would be indicted soon.”
Trump made similar accusations against the DOJ when Adams was first indicted earlier this year. (But that’s not true.)
Adams publicly congratulated Trump, which was widely interpreted as a blatant effort to secure a pardon. After Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, Adams said, “President Biden and President-elect Trump now agree on one thing.” “Biden’s Justice Department has been politicized. Sound familiar? “I will rest my case.”
It is unclear whether the president-elect will complete a pardon if Adams is convicted. Either way, Adams joins a very long list of MAGA loyalists and condemned insurrectionists that Trump has promised to pardon once he takes office in January.
