Gov. Kathy Hochul isn’t ruling out removing NYC Mayor Eric Adams
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she isn’t ruling out removing Mayor Eric Adams from office.
Straight Arrow News
A federal judge in New York will hold a hearing Wednesday for the U.S. Justice Department to explain its controversial motion to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Adams is accused of accepting illegal campaign contributions and free travel from Turkish officials and business leaders during his first mayoral campaign. Prosecutors say Adams, now running for re-election, returned the favors such as expediting safety inspections at a consulate building and spiking a statement that would have marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, according to the indictment.
Adams has pleaded not guilty, vehemently denying the charges he described as “sensational.”
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U.S. District Judge Dale Ho must decide whether or not to grant the Justice Department request to dismiss the charges. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, a former criminal lawyer for President Donald Trump, wrote that the Justice Department did not assess “the evidence or the legal theories” involved in the case. But he said the charges “restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime.”
Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University Law School, said he is almost certain that Judge Ho will grant the government’s motion and toss out the charges against Adams.
“The executive branch runs the criminal process,” Gershman told USA TODAY. “The court can’t prosecute the case itself.”
Common Cause has filed a motion urging Ho to appoint a special prosecutor, claiming that because the the government wants the indictment dismissed “no party before the Court is representing the public interest.”
Gershman expressed doubt Ho would appoint a special prosecutor.
“That prosecutor would have to have the cooperation of the Department of Justice,” Gershman said. “Given what they have already done, it’s a certainty they will not cooperate.”
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, no relation to the mayor, said the mayor should resign. She said he has “lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government, and New Yorkers.”
Adams still has his defenders, such as state Assembly member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, and Hazel Dukes, president of the New York state NAACP.
Adams has also been accused of cooperating with Trump’s immigration crackdown, a reversal of longstanding city policy, in exchange for the charges against him being dropped. Lawyers for Adams have denied any improper conduct.
“We told the (Justice) Department that ending the case would lift a legal and practical burden that impeded Mayor Adams in his official duties,” defense lawyer Alex Spiro wrote in a court filing on Monday. “What we never said or suggested to anyone was that Mayor Adams would do X in exchange for Y.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul met Tuesday with New York City leaders to discuss the “path forward” amid increasing pressure on Hochul to remove Adams from office. The Rev. Al Sharpton, the longtime civil rights leader, said Hochul told him she would conduct more consultations and “see what the judge decides.”
The city charter states that the governor can remove the mayor from office “after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense. Pending the preparation and disposition of charges, the governor may suspend the mayor for a period not exceeding thirty days.”
So Hochul must provide Adams with a written complaint laying out the accusations that are prompting the ouster. Adams then would be afforded some type of public hearing to defend himself against the claims. How that would work is not immediately clear, and there is no precedent for it.
After the hearing, Hochul would make her final decision to remove him or allow him to stay. If he is out, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would become acting mayor.
The timeline is important because the mayoral election will take place this year. If Adams is removed from office before March 26, or 90 days before the June primary election, Williams would need to call a special election. The winner would serve as mayor until the newly elected mayor takes office in January.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is believed to be among those considering a run to replace him, though he hasn’t formally announced his candidacy.
− Contributing: Eduardo Cuevas
