By Jim Geraghty
On the menu today: Prosecutors indicted New York City mayor Eric Adams last night, after a herd of the mayor’s top officials ran to the exit doors in recent weeks. (If the mayor wanted a way to distract from last year’s decision to give the key to the city to Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, who was recently indicted on sex-trafficking charges, he found a way!) It’s just the latest shameful allegation of a U.S. official eagerly signing on for some foreign bribes. Meanwhile, a poll out in Nebraska contends that the usually deep-red state will engage in epic ticket-splitting in November.
Local Government, State, Congress — They’re All for Sale
The indictment of New York City mayor Eric Adams doesn’t really count as an October surprise because it’s not yet October, it’s not quite so surprising after the drip-drip-drip of investigation reports and sudden resignations, and it probably won’t have much influence on this year’s races. (Obviously, it will have a big impact on the city’s mayoral race next year.) But there is an ominous parallel between the first indictment of a sitting mayor in New York City history and some other recent allegations and convictions surrounding foreign bribery.
New York City mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal criminal charges on Wednesday evening, following a sprawling federal probe into allegations that Adams received illegal campaign contributions from foreign governments in 2021. . . .
Adams maintained his innocence in a statement and implied that the corruption probe and resulting charges were politically motivated.
“I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit,” Adams said in a statement.
The indictment is likely related to allegations that the Adams campaign conspired with the Turkish government to accept illegal donations from Turkish real-estate developers.
This morning, federal agents searched Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence. The New York Times fleshes out the allegations a bit:
Investigators have focused since 2021 on whether Mr. Adams and his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, and on whether Mr. Adams pressured Fire Department officials to sign off on the opening of a high-rise consulate building for the Turkish government despite safety concerns.
The allegations have been floating around for a year, after the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, a close associate and chief fundraiser of the mayor’s; the FBI then seized at least two cellphones and an iPad from the mayor.
It’s easily missed if you live outside the New York City metro area, but the executive branch of the city government is resigning piecemeal:
- Earlier this month, “New York Police Department commissioner Edward Caban announced his resignation . . . eight days after authorities seized his phone as part of a federal investigation into possible corruption.”
- A day later, “New York City Hall’s chief legal counsel, Lisa Zornberg, who has defended Mayor Eric Adams amid several federal probes, resigned.”
- A few days later, New York City Schools chancellor David Banks announced that he would resign at the end of the year. “Federal investigators also seized phones belonging to Banks’s longtime girlfriend — New York City first deputy mayor Sheena Wright — and his two brothers, New York City deputy mayor for public safety Philip Banks III and consultant Terence Banks. The brothers are reportedly at the center of a federal probe into an alleged bribery scheme involving city contracts.”
- Monday, New York City health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced his resignation, saying he would leave his post by the end of the year for personal reasons.
(This is separate from Jay Varma, a senior adviser for public health and Covid-19 to New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, who was caught on hidden camera bragging about organizing sex parties during the strict Covid lockdowns he oversaw in 2020. When we were told to shut down all human contact outside of our immediate families for a year or more, Varma was into the mass sharing of bodily fluids.)
Will the last New York City official to leave the city government turn out the lights?
It’s easy to think, “I don’t live anywhere near New York City, so why should I care?” And yes, somehow the Big Apple will find a way to go on without the mayor who awarded the key to the city to Sean Combs a year ago. (A week ago, Combs was charged with racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution, with prosecutors contending he “abused, threatened, and coerced women and others, and led a racketeering conspiracy that engaged in sex trafficking, forced labor, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice.”)
You could well argue that the most surprising thing about this indictment is that, as far as we know, it doesn’t involve the multitude of ways the Chinese government is in bed with New York politicians. (Read Jimmy Quinn’s reporting.)
But the criminal acts alleged in New York are cropping up in more and more places.
Ask yourself: Why did the Turkish government find it worthwhile to have the mayor in its pocket?
Why did the Egyptian government find it worthwhile to have Senator Bob Menendez in its pocket?
Why did the Chinese government find it worthwhile to have Linda Sun, former aide to New York governors Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo, secretly on its payroll?
Another blow to the Globalists/Democrats and the M.S. Media Bottom Feeders as well
The lesson here is that if you are going to be a corrupt Democrat mayor, do NOT EVER criticize the Democrat regime’s immigration policies.
Notice, if you will, that there is no chorus of outraged Democrats wailing about a weaponized Justice Department. That kind of thing is only for cult members who are flatly unable to admit when someone from their party might have done something wrong.
Only Adams. But, why would any of them? Whether Adams is actually corrupt or not, he wouldn’t have been prosecuted had he not spoken out against the insanely stupid, dangerous, deadly, costly illegal immigration super highway the Robin Ware/Robert L. Peters/JRB Ware/Pedo Peter/idiot Biden regime (with Kamala Hamas as the border czar) has created and the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants (many criminals, as we are learning) the regime has dumped on NYC. Do you really think these leftists didn’t get the message? You openly criticize the regime at your own peril.
The DoJ is absolutely and totally weaponized to promote the Democrats and their destructive agenda.
When AOC showed up at the Met Gala in the Tax The Rich dress made specifically for her and didn’t pay the $35,000 entrance fee, she was using more “gifts” in one night than half of Mayor Adams’ upgrades.
Have you ever gotten an airlines seat upgrade and insisted on a strict account about how or why it happened?
Most of the mayor’s “graft” were upgrades he would not have even been aware of.
But, hey, he said bad things about joe and kamala’s open borders consequences, so, throw the book at him.