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STORY: New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday she won’t remove New York City mayor Eric Adams from his post.
Instead, she’s proposed new oversight of the mayor’s office.
“My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and sanctity of democratic elections preclude me from any action. I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves.”
Her comments come after federal orders to dismiss a corruption case against Adams have set off turmoil at the US Justice Department.
More than half a dozen senior prosecutors have quit, rather than follow orders from Trump political appointee and Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who sought to have a federal indictment against Adams dismissed so the mayor can focus on helping Trump crack down on illegal immigration.
Adams was accused last September of siphoning illegal foreign donations to his election campaigns and of taking bribes from Turkish nationals.
One of the prosecutors who quit accused the mayor’s lawyers of proposing a “quid pro quo” with the Trump administration, where Adams would help enforce Trump’s deportations of undocumented migrants, in return for dropping the charges.
That’s all led many New York Democrat lawmakers to call on the mayor to resign.
Hochul has the power to remove him and said she consulted legal advisers whether to do it, but ultimately decided against.
“Those who argue, ‘just go and remove him,’ fail to appreciate there is a process involved – due process, the length of the process and the impact that such a process would have on this city.”
Instead, she has proposed that New York create a new state inspector general overseeing New York City.
A U.S. district judge in Manhattan has yet to decide on a request by federal prosecutors to drop charges against Adams.
Critics say the case at the Justice Department shows political interference under Trump.
Lawyers for Adams have denied speculation that he traded support for Trump for help with the charges.
He pledged to cooperate with Hochul in a statement issued after the governor spoke.
