On Monday, President-elect Donald Trump expressed his willingness to consider pardoning New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who faces federal corruption charges. The mayor, indicted in September, is accused of receiving travel benefits, including flight upgrades, from Turkish officials.
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During a news conference in Florida, Trump responded to the question about considering a pardon for Adams, replying yes, adding that the Mayor had been treated “pretty unfairly” by the Department of Justice.
Trump said:
Being upgraded in an airplane many years ago — I know probably everybody here has been upgraded.
While Trump has expressed support for Adams, he made it clear that he would need to review the details of the case before making a final decision.
The two men have bonded over their mutual criticisms of the Biden administration for both political weaponization of the Justice Department and the federal response to the border crisis. Adams, a Democrat, has been vocal about the immigration crisis in New York City, which has seen an influx of more than 200,000 illegal immigrants. Adams has vowed to work with the Trump administration’s efforts to carry out deportations, while Trump has repeatedly suggested that Adams’ indictment might be politically motivated because of the mayor’s outspoken criticism of the Biden administration on immigration.
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In October, at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, a Catholic charity event in Manhattan that has become a near-requisite for presidential candidates, Trump said:
I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DOJ for speaking out against open borders. We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.
Adams, a former police officer who once registered as a Republican in the 90s, has recently hinted at the possibility of returning to the GOP. Behind the scenes, some of his advisors are working to secure a ticket for him to attend Trump’s upcoming inauguration, signaling potential shifts in his political allegiance and future ambitions.
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Adams may join a growing list of defendants whose pardons are a top priority for the incoming POTUS. In Trump’s recent interview with TIME Magazine, where he was declared Person of the Year, the president-elect declared that he would begin to pardon the January 6 defendants within his first hour in office, saying:
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Well, we’re going to look at each individual case, and we’re going to do it very quickly, and it’s going to start in the first hour that I get into office. And a vast majority of them should not be in jail. A vast majority should not be in jail, and they’ve suffered gravely.
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Later in the interview, Trump specified the timeline, suggesting it would be one of his first official acts, saying:
I’ll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes.
Adams is expected to go to trial in April.