Eric Adams is not for sale. He's for rent!
For columnists, these are the best of times and the worst of times. The first four weeks of Trump Two represent the best of times, because there's so much to opine about. But they're also the worst of times, because Trump does so many outrageous things every day that it's hard to decide which is the worst — and, therefore, worth writing about.
But, this week, there's no doubt about it. Nothing Trump and co-president Elon Musk have done so far — pardoning people who assaulted police officers; surrendering Ukraine to Vladimir Putin; taking over the Kennedy Center; taking food out of the mouths of starving children in South Africa; firing all the people at the Department of Energy whose job was to protect our nuclear weapons, then seeking to rehire them; even bringing back plastic straws — comes close to forcing the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York to drop charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Last September, Adams was indicted on five counts of bribery, wire fraud, and soliciting illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals — for which he could face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
After pleading not guilty to all charges, Adams began a full-court press to cozy up to Trump. In November, he met with Trump at Madison Square Garden. In December, he huddled with Tom Homan, Trump's new 'border czar.' In January, he met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago and attended Trump's inauguration. On Feb. 6, he traveled back to Washington to join Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast.
Adams' wooing of Trump worked. Four days later, Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove stunned New York prosecutors by ordering them to drop the case.
This is probably the worst example of a 'quid pro quo' since Donald Trump's 2019 phone call, in which he promised Ukraine President Zelensky U.S. aid in return for a criminal investigation of Joe Biden — for which he was impeached.
Of course, Deputy AG Emil Bove denied any 'quid pro quo,' but that didn't fool Manhattan U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon. She resigned rather than carry out what she said 'amounted to a quid pro quo.'
In her blistering letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Sassoon — a conservative prosecutor who once clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia — wrote, 'Rather than be rewarded, Adams's advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case.'
In fact, Bove's dismissal order to New York prosecutors, while not using the phrase, almost shouts out 'quid pro quo.' He didn't suggest prosecutors had a weak case against Adams. He argued instead that putting Adams on trial would 'hinder his ability to deal with the immigration crisis.' More tellingly, he also ordered that the case not be dropped permanently, but only 'dismissed without prejudice' – which means it could be reactivated anytime Adams doesn't do everything Trump wants.
A couple of days later, sitting alongside Adams on 'Fox and Friends,' Homan, in colorful language, made that implicit threat explicit. 'If he doesn't come through,' Homan puffed, 'I'll be back in New York City and we won't be sitting on the couch. I'll be in his office, up his butt saying, 'Where the hell is the agreement we came to?''
In other words, Trump and Adams clearly made a deal: You help me round up immigrants, and I'll get the Justice Department off your back.
How refreshing that Sassoon and other senior Justice Department officials refused to go along with that deal. Nevertheless, the message is clear: Trump's promised 'weaponization' or 'politization' of the Justice Department is already well underway.
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