President-elect Trump on Monday said that he would consider a presidential pardon for indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D), who was indicted in September on criminal charges stemming from a federal corruption investigation.
“Yeah, I would,” the president-elect said when asked if he would look at a pardon for Adams. “I think that he was treated pretty unfairly.”
Adams pleaded not guilty after he was charged with wire fraud, foreign contribution solicitation and bribery.
“I don’t know the facts,” Trump added. “I would certainly look at it.”
The corruption allegations against him include accepting discounted and upgraded international flights from Turkish Airlines. Trump suggested reporters asking him questions Monday have also received airline upgrades.
“It seems, you know, like being upgraded in an airplane many years ago — I know probably everybody here has been upgraded. They see you’re all stars, they say, ‘I want to upgrade that person from NBC,’ and that would mean you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison,” he said.
Trump has publicly empathized with Adams in the past, saying in September that Adams has been “honest.” Adams has also emphasized he wants to work with the president-elect, and when questioned last month about whether he has discussed a pardon with Trump, he said his legal team will handle his case.
Trump granted 144 pardons in his first four years as president. He has promised clemency for some of his supporters when he returns to office, including the rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
