Gov. Kathy Hochul will wait for a federal judge’s upcoming decision in Eric Adams’ corruption case before she potentially takes the extraordinary step of removing New York City’s mayor, said the Rev. Al Sharpton.
Sharpton gave a glimpse in Hochul’s thinking on Adams’ future after a high-stakes meeting inside the governor’s Manhattan office Tuesday.
The sit-down was one of several high-profile meetings Hochul planned as she weighs whether to remove Adams from office over growing concerns that he’s politically beholden to President Trump.
“We’re going to wait and see what the judge says tomorrow so we do not set a precedent,” Sharpton told reporters.
“Supposing today she removed him because he’s been indicted and the judge says tomorrow, ‘I’m throwing out the indictment,’ it would be premature.”
Judge Dale Ho is holding a hearing Wednesday over the Justice Department’s bid to quash Adams’ corruption case.
Ho warned that the government’s bid to abandon the prosecution isn’t a done deal, noting a recent ruling that judges can reject such moves if doing so would be “clearly contrary to manifest public interest.”
The governor announced the extraordinary set of sit-downs — which will include City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards — after four New York City deputy mayors resigned en masse Monday.
“If they feel unable to serve in City Hall at this time, that raises serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration,” the Democratic governor said.
The resignations crystallized fears that Adams has lost the ability to govern the nation’s largest city in the aftermath of Trump’s Department of Justice moving to scuttle his corruption case — an order that a key prosecutor claimed came as part of a “quid pro quo” deal that put the mayor in the new president’s pocket.
Sharpton, a longtime friend and ally to Adams, said he was nonetheless worried about the mayor’s ability to govern after the deal.
He specifically pointed out an awkward interview Adams did with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on “Fox & Friends,” in which the fed threatened to be up Hizzoner’s “butt” if he fails to crack down on illegal immigration and alluded to an “agreement.”
“If he doesn’t come through, 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 this agreement we came to?’” Homan said.
Sharpton argued the whole interview raised concerns.
“I’m very concerned Mr Homan came in here and acted like he could make Adams do what he wants and that he’d be up his butt,” he said. “I can’t believe someone would say that on national television.
“I’m very concerned about how the behavior and character of people have been around a very serious issue — we’re talking about families being separated and people being raided who are not here illegally.”
About 30 protesters gathered outside the governor’s Third Avenue office to push Hochul to oust Adams.
“We cannot have a mayor who is corrupt, who is a turncoat, who has switched sides,” said Darius Gordon, a protester from the Met Council on Housing.
“We want Adams to be removed today.”
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