On Thursday, February 20, 2025, New York Governor Kathy Hochul elected not to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office.
“After careful consideration, I have determined that I will not commence removal proceedings at this time,” she said.
“My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and sanctity of democratic elections preclude me from any other action. I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves.”
On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment charging Adams with bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses. More specifically, Adams has been accused of accepting travel benefits and cash from Turkish officials in exchange for influence.
“As alleged, Mayor Adams abused his position as this City’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions,” then-U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. “By allegedly taking improper and illegal benefits from foreign nationals—including to allow a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection—Adams put the interests of his benefactors, including a foreign official, above those of his constituents. This Office and our partners at the FBI and DOI will continue to pursue corruption anywhere in this City, especially when that corruption takes the form of illegal foreign influence on our democratic system.”
Adams denied allegations of corruption and entered a not-guilty plea.
“I am not guilty, your honor,” he told Judge Katharine Parker one day after the indictment was filed.
This month, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove reportedly sent a two-page memo ordering prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the charges levied against Adams.
“The pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime,” Bove wrote.
Instead of signing the motion to dismiss the charges against Adams, federal prosecutor Danielle Sassoon and five other Department of Justice (DOJ) officials resigned. Sassoon described the DOJ’s effort to drop the charges against him as a “quid pro quo.”
“Adams’s attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed,” Sassoon said.
On Thursday, February 13, 2025, Adams reportedly met with Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, and hours later, the mayor announced he had signed an executive order allowing ICE on Rikers Island, marking a major shift in the city’s sanctuary policies.
“We are now working on implementing an executive order that will reestablish the ability for ICE agents to operate on Rikers Island — as was the case for 20 years — but now, instead, ICE agents would specifically be focused on assisting the correctional intelligence bureau in their criminal investigations, in particular those focused on violent criminals and gangs,” Adams said. “We also discussed ways to embed more NYPD detectives into federal task forces, focusing on these violent gangs and criminal activity. Keeping the 8.3 million New Yorkers who call our city home safe is — and will always remain — our administration’s North Star.”
On Wednesday, February 19, 2025, Judge Dale E. Ho held a hearing to determine whether he would accept the motion to dismiss the charges against Adams. The 80-minute hearing drew to a close without a decision, but Ho said, “It is not in anyone’s interest for this to drag on.”
“The judge put Mayor Adams under oath and asked him squarely if there was a quid pro quo,” former U.S. attorney Amanda Kramer said. “He denied that there was, and the judge accepted that testimony. So the fact that he didn’t rule and wants to consider what happens next is not surprising given how unusual the situation is.”
As Adams’ legal battle drags on, several Empire State legislators have criticized the mayor and the Trump administration. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries called it “very disturbing,” while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said he “must be removed” from office.
“Adams must be removed,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “The city cannot sustain being governed for nearly a year by a Mayor who is being coerced by [the] Trump admin[inistration] in order to escape charges.”
On Thursday, Hochul did not remove Adams from office, but she instituted measures to increase her oversight of the mayor. She has proposed measures to “ensure that all decisions out of City Hall are in the clear interests of the people of New York City and not at the behest of the President.”
“A new Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will be established within the Office of the New York State Inspector General. The Special Inspector General for New York City Affairs will receive updates and information directly from the New York City Department of Investigations (NYCDOI) about corruption investigations, and also be able to direct NYCDOI to commence investigations across city government,” a statement released by Governor Hochul reads. “To ensure her continued independence, the New York City Charter will be revised to provide that the Mayor of New York City will not be able to terminate the New York City Commissioner of Investigation without approval by the State Inspector General.”
In addition, the Governor proposed granting “additional funds for the Office of the State Comptroller of the City to support the State’s existing ability to continue to monitor the City and its finances.” She also granted the city comptroller, council, and public advocate the “authority to bring litigation against the federal government using outside counsel if the City’s Law Department declines to do so.”
