President-elect Donald Trump (R) stated he would consider pardoning New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) amid an ongoing federal investigation into alleged campaign bribery and corruption.
During a Monday press conference at Mar-a-Lago, a reporter asked Trump whether he would weigh granting Adams a pardon.
‘There is reason to believe the Adams’ campaign has engaged in conduct detrimental to the matching funds program in violation of law.’
“Yeah, I would. I think that he was treated pretty unfairly,” Trump responded.
He noted that he would need to first look into the details of Adams’ case before granting the pardon.
“I would have to see it because I don’t know the facts,” Trump added.
The president-elect speculated that Adams is being investigated because he spoke out against the Biden administration’s border policies, leading to an unprecedented and unmanageable immigration crisis.
“He essentially went against what was happening with the migrants coming in. And he made some pretty strong statements like, ‘This is not sustainable.’ I said, ‘You know what? He’ll be indicted soon.’ And I said it not as a prediction, a little bit lightheartedly, but I said it,” Trump continued. “And a few months later, he got indicted.”
Adams has also indicated that he believes he was targeted for his statements about the 200,000 foreign nationals who had flooded into the city under the Biden administration.
The mayor was charged in September and is expected to go to trial in April. He is accused of receiving travel benefits from Turkish officials.
Adams has denied the allegations.
“I haven’t seen the gravity of it all, but it seems like being upgraded on an airplane many years ago,” Trump told reporters on Monday, referring to the indictment against Adams.
In October, Trump stated that both he and Adams “were persecuted” by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice.
Adams has faced backlash for inconsistencies in his stance on the immigration crisis, particularly regarding the city’s sanctuary policies. Since the mayor expressed desire to cooperate with Trump and his new border czar, Tom Homan, critics have suggested that he is attempting to earn favor with the administration to secure a pardon.
Last week, Adams sat down with Homan to discuss plans to remove criminal illegal aliens from New York City.
Adams’ chief adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, resigned from her position on Sunday. Her lawyer, Arthur Aidala, claimed that she expects also to be indicted on criminal charges related to the existing investigation.
Aidala told the Associated Press, “Pieces of puzzles are going to be put together to make it look as horrible as possible.”
“But we know the truth, and the truth is Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law,” he added.
Lewis-Martin stated that she has been “falsely accused of something; I don’t know what it is.”
“And during my tenure, I have never taken any gifts, money, anything,” she remarked. “I have not made any arrangements in advance to take any gifts or money, or to have any gifts or money given to a family member or friend in order for me to do my job.”
Adams’ office released a statement acknowledging Lewis-Martin’s retirement.
“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted adviser, but also a sister,” Adams said. “We’ve always talked about when this day would come, and while we’ve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid won’t be right next door every day.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office declined to comment, the AP reported.
On Monday, the New York City Campaign Finance Board determined that Adams’ re-election campaign would not be eligible to receive over $4 million in public matching funds.
CFB chair Frederick Schaffer explained that it is “not unusual” for several candidates to be ineligible for the first payment. He noted that those who were denied will have an opportunity to appeal.
“The board does not usually make a public explanation of its payment decisions, however, because the circumstances are unusual in the public interest rate, we have determined that it is appropriate to be transparent with the public,” Schaffer stated. “The board has determined that there is reason to believe the Adams’ campaign has engaged in conduct detrimental to the matching funds program in violation of law, including the Campaign Finance Act and board rules.”
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
The post Trump floats pardon for NYC Mayor Adams: ‘Treated pretty unfairly’ appeared first on TheBlaze.
