New York Mayor Eric Adams believed he had drawn the ire of the Justice Department after speaking out against the Biden administration’s immigration policies.
Adams was indicted by a federal grand jury in September and faces five charges, including bribery, soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, wire fraud and conspiracy. He has denied being guilty of all charges.
“I didn’t break the law. I didn’t do anything wrong — that’s how I live my life. And that’s how I’ll continue to live my life,” Adams said Wednesday in a sit-down interview with Fox News host Martha MacCallum on “The Story ‘.
FBI raids homes of top responders for New York Mayor ERIC ADAMS
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is flanked by his Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, left, and advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, during his weekly in-person press conference at City Hall Blue Room on March 5, 2024 in New York. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He claimed the timing of the charges was “clearly suspicious” and vowed to keep fighting for what he believes is right.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement time the indictment was issued that Adams “abused his position as this city’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to accept bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions.”
“By allegedly deriving improper and illegal benefits from foreigners – including allowing a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection – Adams has interests of his benefactorsincluding a foreign official, above that of his constituents,” the statement read in part.
During the press conference, Mayor Adams announced a new restriction on adult migrant/asylum seekers staying in city shelters for up to 60 days. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)
MacCallum asked the mayor of New York if he was concerned about what the FBI might discover in its investigation into his chief adviser resigned earlier this week amid reports she will face criminal charges.
“No,” Adams said curtly. ‘They all have lawyers. And I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize their business, but I tell my team, and I do, that we follow the law. This is about following the law. years as a police officer enforcing the law to break the law.”
A former Adams aide was charged the following October with witness tampering and destruction of evidence he would have removed Signal, an encrypted communications app, from his phone that was allegedly used to communicate with the mayor.
President-elect Donald Trump said he would consider pardoning Adams after he was asked by a reporter at a news conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this week.
“Yes, I think he was treated quite unfairly. Now I didn’t realize the seriousness of all this, but it seems, you know, like it was upgraded on a plane many years ago,” Trump said.
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Adams said he did not ask the incoming 47th president for a pardon and that in their conversations they only talked about their love for New York and how they could potentially work together.
President-elect Donald Trump arrives to speak at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
“I work with the president and his administration, not at war with him. I say that quote over and over again. And my lawyer is an excellent lawyer. He will take on every opportunity. to pursue justice. I shouldn’t have been charged,” Adams claimed.
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“No American should have to go through what I am going through right now. This country believes in fairness and what I am experiencing is not just a professional tragedy; it is a personal tragedy.”
