New York’s last mayor, Bill de Blasio, defends successor Eric Adams amid scandal

Bill de Blasio, the former New York City mayor and a fellow Democrat, believes the case against Adams should never have been brought. The charges, which include bribery and campaign finance allegations, “were flimsy,” de Blasio said in an interview Friday with CBS News.

“From Day One, I thought the charges against him were very weak,” de Blasio said. “I believe in my heart, and this is from personal experience, that we’ve got to have maturity to know that just because some prosecutor brings a charge doesn’t mean it’s true.”

On Monday, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo instructing former New York U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon’s office to abandon the five-count indictment against Adams. Bove wrote that the case “restricted” Adams’ ability to help the Trump administration enforce its immigration policies.

Sassoon, who was Manhattan’s top career federal prosecutor until Thursday, was among at least half a dozen Justice Department officials to resign after her office was directed to drop its criminal case against Adams.

Adams, who pleaded not guilty and denied wrongdoing, was set to go to trial in April. Prosecutors said in a sprawling September indictment that Adams abused his power for years, using his influence to obtain illegal campaign contributions and free or discounted travel.

Sassoon wrote in a letter to the attorney general Thursday that Adams’ attorneys had “urged what amounted to a quid pro quo,” allegedly offering the mayor’s cooperation with Trump administration priorities in immigration enforcement in exchange for dismissal of the charges.

An attorney for Adams called that “a total lie,” and in a statement Friday, Adams also denied the allegation.

“I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never,” Adams said.

Adams on Thursday announced an executive order allowing federal immigration agents to enter the city’s Rikers Island jail complex — a major reversal of city policy. But de Blasio said he is skeptical that decisions like that are evidence of a deal with the White House.

De Blasio said he didn’t believe that was indicative of a quid pro quo arrangement. He called the move “consistent with his previous positions that had nothing to do with his legal case.”

“I’ve had my differences with Eric Adams, but I’ve known him a long time. He was a police officer for 20 years. He understands the law,” de Blasio said. “I am not surprised that he takes a different position on immigration than the rest of us (New York Democrats).” 

De Blasio was broadly critical of the case and the prosecutors who brought it, saying the plan to go to trial just two months before the city’s crucial Democratic primary was irresponsible.

However, Sassoon, in her resignation letter Thursday, noted that the Justice Department had indicted Adams earlier. “The Department of Justice correctly concluded that bringing charges nine months before a primary election was entirely appropriate,” Sassoon wrote. 

De Blasio said he knows from experience the toll of being under investigation. He weathered his own federal probe related to campaign fundraising. It did not lead to charges. De Blasio said “the process of defending yourself from a potential charge is time consuming” and often means extra hours spent fundraising. 

He said an upcoming election was the elephant in the room.

“They were explicit that there was a clock in mind. They either had to prove their case or pull it,” de Blasio said.

In March 2017, acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim announced no charges would be brought against de Blasio. The announcement noted that Kim’s office wanted to avoid influencing that year’s race for City Hall. 

“Although it is rare that we issue a public statement about the status of an investigation, we believe it appropriate in this case at this time, in order not to unduly influence the upcoming campaign and Mayoral election,” Kim said.

Adams and Bove called the case against him politically motivated, echoing complaints made about other cases by Bove’s former defense client, President Trump.

De Blasio thinks the parallel ends there.

“It’s apples to oranges. For all things related to Trump, there was massive evidence in public view. No one’s ever shown evidence of bribery (against Adams),” de Blasio said.

Mr. Trump was convicted in New York last year of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He is appealing that conviction. A criminal case in Georgia is on indefinite hold, and a federal case against Mr. Trump was dropped after he was elected in November, because pursuing it further would have violated Justice Department policy regarding sitting presidents. Another federal case was dismissed last summer.

Mr. Trump has denied all allegations and accused various prosecutors of charging him for political gain.

Adams’ critics have accused him of cozying up to Trump in order to make his case go away. De Blasio said Adams can show that’s untrue through open opposition to Trump policies.

“The mayor has an opportunity to prove that notion false. He can put this to rest with his actions,” de Blasio said.