We’ve reported on the federal charges now pending against Democratic NYC Mayor Eric Adams including Conspiracy to Defraud the United States (Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Bribery, and to Receive Campaign Contributions by Foreign Nationals), wire fraud, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, and bribery.
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In remarks Wednesday night, Adams said he believed he was being targeted for speaking up about the Biden administration doing nothing on the illegal alien crisis.
“That fight has continued as your mayor. Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics.” [….]
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became.”
Adams said he would not be resigning, and he claimed he is innocent of the charges.
READ MORE: BREAKING: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indicted on Criminal Charges, Expected to be Arrested
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Now we’ll have to see more as the case evolves, including what kind of evidence they have; Adams is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
But what I call the “magical D” — that is the magical cloak of protection that seems to extend to Democrats — doesn’t seem to be in action here.
People other than Adams are raising questions about the charges, including Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY):
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GOP NY Rep Tenney on Fox Business on NYC Mayor Adams:
This is all very stunning..there’s a demand for his resignation..However, it is interesting that most of these charges are eight years old. Why weren’t they prosecuted and done then? Because the Democrats needed to have him win an election. They needed to have their guy in office. Now, they don’t want their guy in office because why he stood up to President Biden..Mayor Adams looks very guilty, but he is innocent until proven guilty. And he deserves that right as an American citizen. This just looks targeted. I could be wrong. But I served in the New York state legislature, I’ve seen when the Democrats attack each other and how bad it can be. And I feel like they’re really trying to remove him because he’s got some primary opponents who are lurking in the background who, by the way, are equally as bad.
Now, again, we don’t know all the facts yet, and Tenney is speculating. It’s easy to see how people might speculate.
Some, like Alex Berenson, think the facts initially alleged sound light:
Berenson calls it a “bunch of business-class upgrades when he wasn’t even mayor, times must be tough at the SDNY.”
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George Washington law professor Jonathan Turley’s initial assessment is similar, with the title of his NY Post comment on the issue saying “less than meets the eye,” as to some of the charges.
In the end, this is a Bob Menendez-lite indictment. Failing to publicly list how you moved from economy to business class on flights is hardly the stuff of “All the King’s Men.” It is more like “All the King’s Upgrades.”
Turley also notes:
The Adams allegations would constitute a fairly crude form of corruption by today’s standards. For the Biden family, it looks like small potatoes.
Again, we’ll have to see as the evidence comes out.
As we reported earlier, if Adams resigns, his acting successor would be Jumaane Williams for 80 days until a special election.
This is Williams:
In an X thread from his official Pubic Advocate account, Williams said while everyone is presumed innocent, these “charges are even more sweeping and severe than imagined,” that it was “not enough to deflect blame and deny responsibility.” He continued, saying that Adams needed to have a “real plan and path to govern the city effectively and regain trust, and his time to show that plan is rapidly running out.”
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We saw allegations result in taking down Andrew Cuomo, then we ended up with someone to the left of him, now-Gov. Kathy Hochul (D). We might get that again here.
A reporter put White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on the spot on the question, bringing up what Adams said about being targeted, that this was similar to what former President Donald Trump has said. And what does KJP have to say about this?
“The president was clear, even when he was running in 2020, that he was going to make sure that DOJ is independent and the DOJ is handling this case independently,” KJP said.
She refused to comment further on the question.