What did Adams actually do for these foreign agents? Is there something in particular they got out of him? Do we know?
There’s the charge Adams pressured fire officials to bypass an inspection of a new Turkish consulate.
Really sleazy.
they got this:
As George Carlin said about the Reagan Administration:
“They’re against street crime unless that street is Wall Street.”
Moderating:
The charges are not related to immigration, nor Abbott. If you want to discuss that topic, you can create a new topic. Let’s keep that topic out of this one. Thanks!
On a slightly lighter, and very ironic note, a recent quote from Eric Adams:
“The Bad Boy of entertainment is getting the key to the city from the bad boy of politics”
In reference to giving Diddy the key to the city a little over a week ago.
Wow, that aged faster than a Trump political appointee and just as badly.
Since both are now indicted on serious charges.
Note - that while I’m sure there’s an appeal in casting yourself as a “bad boy” when you’re trying to look tough, I do think it’s part and parcel of our modern view (not shared by most if not all of THIS board) of politics as Reality TV entertainment.
I don’t want to imply in any way that the key to the city was also the result of bribery, just that the timing is ironic. And I do wonder what other elements of bribery will come to light as more people desert the sinking ship of Mayor Adams in light of the charges.
Innocent until proven guilty, of course, but it looks pretty bad for Hizzoner. The theory that the President has it in for him because of his critical remarks on immigration policy is just silly, though.
FWLIW, a longtime friend of mine, a well-informed Brooklyn Dem who’s no Adams fan, told me awhile back that he thought the mayor was going to be charged with some kind of corruption.
I don’t live in NY, but I read The Times almost every day, and my impression of Adams over the past few years from reading the paper is:
- He’s an arrogant asshole who will do whatever he wants and Fuck You
- He is surrounded by a variety of shady people
- If you don’t get on board with His Way, he’ll throw you under the bus in a second
- A remarkable number of people in his orbit were under investigation for … something (which we know now)
So this indictment is, in general, about as surprising as Donald Trump saying something stupid.
Yeah, I’m just surprised it took this long.
Yeah, it should be noted that Biden kept Trump’s Pandemic era “Remain in Mexico” executive order for years (?) after becoming President and supported the Bipartisan Border Security Bill that included a reduction in asylum access and more border security.
There’s no particular reason to think that Biden is all that gung-ho about defending immigrants. Sure, he isn’t mean spirited towards them like Jeff Sessions was but there’s a fair and open field between that and radical options on the other side for more nuanced views of the subject and that middle ground seems to be where Biden stands.
I’d guess that Adams is looking at things like Trump’s Blagojevich pardon and starting the process of securing a potential get-out-of-jail ticket.
My cousin has lived in Brooklyn for 25 years, is involved in community organizations, and when Adams ran for Mayor (after being Brooklyn Borough President 2013-2021) she said “Anyone but Adams!”. She’d heard about his One Brooklyn fund. From Adams’ wikipedia page:
“In 2014, Adams established the One Brooklyn Fund, a nonprofit organization for community programs, grant writing, and extolling local businesses. Critics characterized it as serving as a conduit for Adams’s public profile and allowing non-campaign “pay to play” contributions from developers and lobbyists.[70] Adams’s office was investigated twice by the city Department of Investigation (DOI) over One Brooklyn’s fundraising. The first investigation was in 2014 when potential attendees were asked if they would provide “financial support” to One Brooklyn.”
And another relative who works for a NYC government agency sent me this link. Here’s an excerpt
Wild: NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Turkish Airlines Flight Scandal - One Mile at a Time
"The indictment talks about how Adams flew Turkish Airlines even when it wasn’t convenient:
For example, during the July and August 2017 trip, Adams’s Partner was surprised to learn that ADAMS was in Turkey when she had understood him to be flying from New York to France. ADAMS responded, in a text message, “Transferring here. You know first stop is always instanbul [sic].” When Adams’s Partner later inquired about planning a trip to Easter Island, Chile, ADAMS repeatedly asked her whether the Turkish Airline could be used for their flights, requiring her to call the Turkish Airline to confirm that they did not have routes between New York and Chile."
Flying from NY to Chile via Istanbul is more than just “not convenient”. Jeez.
To say nothing of Constantinople!
If you’ve a date in Santiago, he’ll be waiting in Istanbul.
That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.
And the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
There are a few really good plays on that song in this thread, but this one made me snerk out loud.
One of my favorite podcasts, “If Books Could Kill”, has an episode all about Eric Adam’s and the trouble he’s in. It’s a fun listen:
If anyone’s interested, they have another good episode on The Hillbilly Elegy.
That was last year.
I don’t think Diddy was in danger of being associated with Adams quite that recently.
Fair enough, articles being reposted with time stamps removed do that to you! Or I simply overlooked it in an effort to score points, which, well, I can’t deny I do from time to time but it’s embarrassing.
I admit to my wrongdoings.
See Mr. Eric Adams? You can do it too!
(Wouldn’t it be weird if he was a poster, read and responded!)