Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, knows how to put on a show. Black SUVs zooming into Gracie Mansion. Big color charts and stern government lawyers standing with their hands clasped. “A multiyear scheme,” Williams intoned, “to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams.”
It’s all nice sound and fury, but is it as serious as Williams claims?
At first glance, what the government of Turkey got as “favors” from Mayor Adams was small potatoes. Cutting red tape to open the Turkish consulate on time. A position on the transition team. And what did Adams get in return? Campaign donations. And first-class upgrades on Turkish Airlines. #Extralegroomgate.
The latter is embarrassing but may not be illegal. The straw donor scheme is more serious, but Adams denies he knew anything about it.
It is in the best interest of fairness — and the best interest of New York City — that Adams be allowed to present a defense while he continues to serve his term.
The argument of the resignation crowd is that he is so distracted that he cannot possibly lead and that his administration is in chaos with multiple staff either quitting or fleeing for the exits.
But the alternative is a recipe for similar chaos.
The vultures already circling will lead Gotham to disaster, beginning with the man who would temporarily take over if Adams were to step down or be removed: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
A defund-the-police radical, who prefers getting arrested at protests to actually providing solutions, could make the crime situation worse even in a short time.
Then there would come a special election, likely in early 2025.
Adams’ so-far declared election rivals are also a terrible collection of unserious progressive loudmouths or has-beens. Meanwhile, disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo smells blood in the water and is circling.
Republicans? City Councilman Joe Borelli has said he’d run in a special, and maybe another sane option will come forward from somewhere — but Democrats’ edge in citywide enrollment is beyond fearsome.
The decision to pursue Adams undoubtedly carries a strong whiff of politics: The investigation clearly went into high gear after the mayor infuriated the White House by going high-profile in his complaints about the border crisis’ impact on New York.
And the Southern District’s full-court press on Adams officials — even raiding interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon’s home the other week, just days after he’d taken the NYPD job, over documents he’d apparently held for nearly two decades — only adds to those suspicions.
The reputation of prosecutors and trust in the justice system over the last few years, from the treatment of Hunter Biden and Donald Trump to partisan DAs and kidglove treatment of violent offenders, is frankly awful.
We reserve judgment on whether Mayor Adams did wrong. The law is the law and a fair legal process will get to the truth.
The coming days will reveal the strength of the criminal case against Adams and his ability to dismantle it.
But there’s no need to rush things. Either way, New Yorkers will decide next year whether to keep him for a second term or go in a new direction.
In the meanwhile, what they really want is for someone to continue the fight against crime, battle the tsunami of antisemitism in the city, deal with the migrant crisis, grapple with the soaring cost of living, tackle the housing crisis and improve the atrocious educational attainment of pupils in the system.