What to KnowNew York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams is dealing with a brand new wave of stress from inside his celebration to resign from workplace following the Justice Division’s transfer to drop his federal corruption caseThe backlash in opposition to Adams has moved public officers, a few of whom are working in opposition to Adams within the June major, to name for his resignation or for his elimination from officeOn Thursday night time, in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Gov. Kathy Hochul left the door open to make use of her elimination powers in opposition to Adams amid the allegations made by the previous SDNY performing US lawyer common of a quid professional quo
New York Metropolis Mayor Eric Adams is dealing with stress from inside his celebration to resign from workplace following the Justice Division’s transfer to drop the mayor’s federal corruption case, with some Democrats implying Adams is compromised.
The reactions comes as Manhattan’s prime federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, and different high-ranking DOJ officers resigned Thursday after she refused an order to drop corruption fees in opposition to Adams — a shocking escalation in a dayslong standoff over the Trump administration prioritizing political goals over prison culpability. Adams has pleaded not responsible.
Sassoon, a Republican who was interim U.S. lawyer for the Southern District of New York, accused the division of acceding to a “quid pro quo” — dropping the case to make sure Adams’ assist with Trump’s immigration agenda — and mentioned she was “confident” the Democratic mayor dedicated the crimes spelled out in his indictment, and much more.
Earlier than the showdown, Sassoon mentioned, prosecutors had been making ready to cost Adams with destroying proof and instructing others to destroy proof and supply false data to the FBI.
“I remain baffled by the rushed and superficial process by which this decision was reached,” Sassoon wrote Trump’s new lawyer common, Pam Bondi, on Wednesday.
The backlash in opposition to Mayor Adams has moved public officers, a few of whom are working in opposition to Adams within the June major, to name for his resignation or for his elimination from workplace.
Brad Lander, the New York Metropolis comptroller, described Adams’ state of affairs as “sad, embarrassing, and enraging,” whereas the earlier comptroller, Scott Stringer, went additional and said the mayor was trapped in a “hostage situation.” Each males are working in opposition to Adams within the Democratic major.
Hostage state of affairs just isn’t an overstatement. I mentioned it my deal with yesterday and now it’s all too actual:
The president sees this mayor as a pawn…as an open-door alternative to make use of New York Metropolis because the proving floor for mass deportations, for federal overreach, for a technique that… https://t.co/KKccezCYyi
— Scott Stringer (@scottmstringer) February 14, 2025
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a frequent critic of the cop-turned-mayor, additionally went on X, saying Adams was “putting the City of New York and its people at risk in exchange for escaping charges.” She mentioned if Adams would not resign, he “must” be eliminated, an thought Rep. Nydia Velazquez additionally shared on social media.
That is explosive.
Mayor Adams is placing the Metropolis of New York and its individuals in danger in alternate for escaping fees.
So long as Trump wields this leverage over Adams, the town is endangered. We can’t be ruled beneath coercion.
If Adams received’t resign, he should be eliminated. https://t.co/TEERloAm2o
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 13, 2025
On Thursday night time, Lieutenant Gov. Antonio Delgado grew to become the highest-profile state official to hitch the resignation calls in opposition to Adams.
“New York City deserves a Mayor accountable to the people, not beholden to the President. Mayor Adams should step down,” Delgado mentioned on his private X account.
A Hochul spokesperson instructed The Gothamist that Delgado “does not now and has never spoken on behalf of this administration.”
Nevertheless, hours after Delgado requested for the mayor’s resignation, Hochul left the door open to make use of the elimination powers in opposition to Adams amid the allegations made by Sassoon of a quid professional quo.
“I did see the letter that was issued by the Acting United States Attorney. The allegations are extremely concerning and serious,” mentioned Hochul in an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “But I cannot, as the governor of this state have a knee-jerk reaction, politically motivated reaction, like a lot of other people are saying right know.”
Hochul added she is targeted on sustaining stability in New York Metropolis, saying she wants “some time to process this.”
Can Eric Adams be faraway from workplace?
Below the New York Metropolis Constitution, Gov. Kathy Hochul has the ability to take away the mayor from workplace by presenting fees in opposition to the mayor and giving him “an opportunity to be heard in his defense.”
A transfer to take away a siting New York Metropolis mayor, whereas authorized, can be unprecedented. The final time a governor eliminated a metropolis official was within the early Thirties, when then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt eliminated New York County Sherriff Thomas M. Farley. Different governors have threatened to make use of the constitution’s elimination powers however declined to pursue motion.
Solely two mayors have resigned from workplace within the metropolis’s historical past: James J. Walker on Sept. 1, 1932; and William O’Dwyer on Sept. 2, 1950.
The constitution additionally provides the native leaders one other various to take away Adams: declare the mayor unable for workplace.
The clause permits for the formation of an five-member “inability committee” to consisting of the company counsel, the comptroller, the Metropolis Council Speaker, a deputy mayor designated by the mayor and the longest-serving borough president.
4 out of the 5 members must comply with take away Adams.
On Friday, Council Member Tiffany Cában mentioned in an announcement the town’s Committee on Mayoral Lack of ability “must step up immediately” if Hochul doesn’t take away Adams from workplace.
A transfer to declare “mayoral inability” can be near-impossible and the atmosphere to take away the second-ever Black mayor of New York Metropolis, whereas rising, stays low.
