Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams is fighting for his political life as he finds himself in the middle of a legal firestorm, raising questions about how much longer he can hold on to power.
Adams was indicted last week by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office in a wide-ranging federal corruption probe, the culmination of a growing scandal that had engulfed City Hall over the last couple months and had been brewing under the surface for years.
It was a stunning fall from grace for a man once seen as a rising star in Democratic politics, and while Adams has signaled he isn’t going anywhere, some of his opponents are confident he will feel pressure to step down.
“Eric Adams has always been a Republican in Democratic clothing, so is anyone really surprised by the corruption allegations?” said one Democratic operative who works for a New York member of Congress. “While his Republican friends might try to prop him up, it’s clear he’s losing the trust of the city.”
“At this point,” the strategist predicted, “it’s only a matter of time before he’s forced to resign.”
Adams’s legal team has already started mounting a defense that seeks to question the prosecution, who on Wednesday said that he may encounter even more criminal charges as the investigation continues. There’s also a possibility that it could drag new people into legal jeopardy.
Several of Adams’s close confidants resigned just before news became public about the indictment, which described how an aide to the mayor also deleted communications during the probe with the FBI.
Prosecutor Hagan Scotten said that it’s “possible” that the person who in 2021 was........