By Serena Edwards
The next mayoral election will take place in Nov. later this year. Current mayor Eric Adams was charged with bribery and campaign finance offenses on Sept. 26 of last year as previously reported by The Vanguard. Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, has requested the Department of Justice (DOJ) to drop his charges.
Adams was indicted with five counts, including bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and two counts of soliciting funding from foreign donors, including alleged illegal campaign donations from foreigners, according to CNN. Allegedly, Adams had been wrongfully using funds before his mayoral position. “Between 2016 and October 2023, he allegedly committed 23 different ‘overt acts,’ which include accepting free flights and hotel rooms and coordinating straw donations,” CNN stated.
Adams’ actions as mayor have received widespread backlash from New Yorkers. During his time, he has cut budgets for schools, libraries, and other essential programs for students. Even after walking back on original budget cuts, “[…] the Education Department [faced] more than $100 million in new cuts starting next fiscal year, on top of the $600 million in cuts announced in November [2023],” according to Chalkbeat.
Before Adams was elected as mayor, he served as a state senator for New York in 2006, and following his time as a senator, Adams served as the former Brooklyn borough president. These recent investigations haven’t been the first time in his political career he was questioned about where his funding came from. According to Britannica, “Adams was criticized by the state inspector general for raising money from bidders on a casino contract and failing to make sure the contract was issued according to ethical guidelines […]” during his time as senator in 2010.
His court date is set for April, but he has stood strong on his innocency since the charges have been announced. If he is found guilty, Adams could face up to forty-five years in prison.
Attorney Spiro is known for his high-list clientele such as tech businessman Elon Musk. “The defense team is led by Alex Spiro, who is also the personal lawyer for Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one of the president’s closest advisers,” stated The New York Times.
There have also been discussions of President Trump pardoning Adams. “The discussions about wiping away Adams’ troubles came after he spent months courting President Donald Trump, who has echoed the Democratic mayor’s tale of political persecution and openly mused about issuing him a pardon,” Politico stated. Adams has been showing his support for Trump regarding mass deportation and DEI changes. According to CBS News, Adams and Trump met in Florida prior to the inauguration, along with an appearance by Adams at the inauguration.
Though dropping the case is a possibility, it wouldn’t be an easy process. “If we were to allow presidential authority over law enforcement to trump ethics rules enforced by courts and endorsed by Congress, we risk significantly weakening an independent judiciary,” Fordham Law stated.
On Feb. 10, the case against Adams was dropped. The Vanguard will provide updates in issue 2.