Despite an unfavorable news cycle on Sunday and Monday morning, things might be looking up for Eric Adams. Over the weekend, it emerged that Ingrid Lewis-Martin, one of the mayor’s closest aides, had resigned ahead of an anticipated indictment. And then, on Monday, the city campaign-finance board officially blocked Adams’s reelection campaign from utilizing public matching funds, citing his ongoing legal troubles.
But the tenor of the day quickly changed as President-elect Donald Trump indicated during a winding press conference at Mar-a-Lago that he would consider pardoning the New York City mayor who is currently facing numerous federal corruption charges. “Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” he said Monday. “Now, I haven’t seen the gravity of it all, but it seems like, you know, like getting upgraded in an airplane many years ago.”
In September, federal prosecutors unveiled a five-count indictment against Adams, alleging that the mayor knowingly sought illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals and accepted luxury travel perks over the course of several years. Adams has long maintained his innocence in the case and has vowed to fight the charges, which include wire fraud and soliciting and accepting a bribe.
In the months since his indictment, speculation grew that Adams was leaving the door open for a potential pardon from Trump if he won reelection. Trump frequently spoke of Adams positively in public, at times praising the mayor and even comparing their legal plights. The two shared a stage at the annual Al Smith Memorial Dinner in Manhattan in October, where Trump suggested that Adams had been targeted by the federal government for his criticism of the Biden White House over its handling of the migrant crisis. “I’d like to poke some fun at Eric, but I’m going to be nice. I just want to be nice because I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the DoJ for speaking out against open borders,” Trump said. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so were you, Eric.”
For his part, Adams has made overtures to Trump and his incoming presidency, expressing an openness to working with his administration in contrast with many of his fellow Democratic leader. Adams has also repeatedly declined to denounce Trump’s praise of him.
Though Trump appeared open to the idea on Monday, he held off on making a clear promise of a potential pardon. “I’d have to see it ’cause I don’t know the facts,” he said.
