Home Republicans took it simple on Mayor Eric Adams as they excoriated Democratic leaders of different main cities over their sanctuary legal guidelines.
REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
A throng of congressional Republicans excoriated a panel of big-city Democratic mayors throughout a contentious Wednesday listening to, however they have been quite a bit kinder to reasonable Mayor Eric Adams.
The GOP members of the Home Oversight Committee repeatedly requested the Democratic mayors, besides Adams, questions on their insurance policies in opposition to cooperating with federal immigration authorities. Nonetheless, Hizzoner did face a barrage of robust questions from fellow Democrats over allegations that his legal professional made a take care of President Trump’s Justice Division to toe the road on immigration enforcement in trade for dropping his federal corruption case.
In the meantime, as one Republican Congress member after one other hammered the mayors of Denver, Chicago, and Boston on their cities’ so-called “sanctuary” legal guidelines, they principally left Adams untouched in the course of the 6-hour continuing on March 5.
Mayor Eric Adams attends a Home Oversight and Accountability Committee listening to to look at the jurisdiction of “sanctuary cities” and its affect on federal immigration coverage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2025.REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
The few occasions that the GOP members addressed or questioned Adams, they went out of their technique to thank him for being the one mayor on the panel to decide to working with federal immigration authorities in some instances.
“You have publicly stated that you were willing to work with [US Immigration and Customers Enforcement] on detaining the most criminal illegals, and I want to publicly thank you for that,” stated US Rep. James Comer (R-KY), the committee chair.
At one other level within the listening to, US Rep. Gary Palmer (R-AL) alleged that Adams is being “attacked because he’s agreed to cooperate with federal officials to uphold the laws of the United States.” Rep. William Timmons (R-SC) repeated the unsubstantiated declare that former President Biden’s Justice Division indicted Adams as retribution for criticizing his administration’s border insurance policies.
“The only one of you that stood up to the previous administration was under investigation shortly thereafter,” Timmons stated. “Weird how that happens.”
Pressed on alleged take care of Trump
Mayor Eric Adams attends a Home Oversight and Accountability Committee listening to to look at the jurisdiction of “sanctuary cities” and its affect on federal immigration coverage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2025.Mayor Eric Adams attends a Home Oversight and Accountability Committee listening to to look at the jurisdiction of “sanctuary cities” and its affect on federal immigration coverage, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., March 5, 2025.REUTERS/Kent Nishimura
In the meantime, the few robust traces of robust questioning that Adams confronted got here from these in his personal celebration.
US Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), a Democrat representing a part of California, charged that Adams is in a “different position” from the opposite mayors on the panel who confronted threats of prosecution from Republicans over entforcing their sanctuary legal guidelines. He went on to cite former appearing Manhattan US Lawyer Danielle Sassoon, who resigned final month, saying that she was “confident” in Adams’ corruption case and refused to adjust to the DOJ’s order to drop the costs.
Six different federal prosecutors resigned in protest somewhat than write a movement to dismiss Adams’ case.
Garcia additionally famous that the Justice Division is requesting to toss Adams’ case “without prejudice,” which means the DOJ can resurrect it at any time.
The Congress member stated he thinks that’s the reason Adams did a joint interview with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan, whom he dubbed “the architect of family separation,” on Fox & Associates simply days after the DOJ requested the costs be dropped. Through the interview, Homan stated he could be “up [Adams’] butt” if the mayor didn’t honor their behind-closed-doors settlement on immigration enforcement.
“You sat next to him, you smiled, you bad-mouthed your own City Council,” Garcia stated. “Now, Mr. Mayor, we have a right to know if the Trump administration has actually coerced you into agreeing to anything. Mayor Adams, I also want to be very clear: Are you selling out New York to save yourself from prosecution?”
As he has constantly finished, together with below oath at a current court docket listening to, Adams denied the allegations: “There’s no deal, no quid pro quo, and I did nothing wrong.”
“Anything dealing with this case, out of deference to Judge [Dale] Ho, who’s now addressing it, I’m going to refer to his actions,” Adams added, referring to the federal decide assigned to his case. He repeated an analogous line all through the listening to when different members requested concerning the alleged quid professional quo.
Relatively than instantly agreeing to drop Adams’ costs, Decide Ho assigned an impartial counsel to argue on behalf of preserving the case alive and is because of take into account arguments in a March 14 listening to.
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens), one among Adams’ left-leaning foils, pushed him on particulars of Sassoon’s allegations. She learn excerpts from the resignation letters of each Sassoon and Hagan Scotton, who served because the lead prosecutor on Adams’ case.Picture by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Photos
In one other tense trade, US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens), one among Adams’ left-leaning foils, pushed him on particulars of Sassoon’s allegations. She learn excerpts from the resignation letters of each Sassoon and Hagan Scotton, who served because the lead prosecutor on Adams’ case.
“The acting US Attorney, the assistant US Attorney, all gave up their entire careers, Republicans included, [rather] than drop these charges,” Ocasio-Cortez stated. “These are not Democratic US Attorneys; these are Republican US Attorneys, who have trained under Republican Supreme Court justices, who have stated and suggested as well that the prosecutorial power at the Department of Justice may be influencing what is occurring.”
