NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Kathy Hochul was meeting with “key leaders” in New York City on Tuesday to discuss Mayor Eric Adams’ future amid mounting calls for his resignation—or removal—over an agreement with the Trump administration that allegedly saw his federal corruption charges dropped for help with Trump’s immigration crackdown. One of those leaders, Rev. Al Sharpton, said she planned to see what the judge overseeing the Adams case says at a hearing he's called for Wednesday.
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2:15 PM – Queens borough pres. has 'frank discussion' with Hochul
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said in a statement that he had a “clear-eyed and frank discussion” Tuesday with Hochul about the Adams administration.
“The powers of her office are mighty and come with immense responsibility, but I have full faith and confidence that she will continue to put the interests of our city and state first in the days ahead,” Richards said.
As the longest-serving borough president currently, Richards would be on a so-called five-person “Inability Committee” if one were formed to remove Adams. The committee is seen as an alternative option to Hochul removing Adams outright, a decision she's still mulling over.
Richards said the city’s “values and its diverse communities are under threat now more than ever before — the obvious targets of an extremist, xenophobic federal administration that has no interest in the common good.”
“We need steady-handed leadership at City Hall that can not only weather these crises but address them head-on and continue to move New York City forward,” the borough president went on to say. “New Yorkers deserve that from a laser-focused government they can trust, and I encourage Mayor Adams to give deep, honest thought as to whether his administration is capable of delivering such a government.”
1 PM – Al Sharpton says Hochul is 'going to see what judge decides'
Speaking with reporters in Midtown on Tuesday after meeting with Hochul, civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton said the governor plans “to see what the judge decides tomorrow” as she decides whether or not to take the extraordinary, and unprecedented, step of removing Adams from office.
Hochul was meeting with various "key leaders" on Tuesday amid mounting pressure to force Adams out of office if he doesn’t resign. Meanwhile, Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho ordered the parties in Adams case—the DOJ and his attorneys—to appear in court for a hearing Wednesday to discuss a motion to dismiss the charges.
Sharpton said Trump's administration is to blame for the fact Hochul has to “make the decision to do something or not do something that has not been done in 235 years.”
“I don’t believe he should’ve gotten a pardon,” Sharpton said of Adams. “The governor said to me she’s going to see what the judge decides tomorrow and keep deliberating with other leaders. My feeling is that the faith of the city's people has been shaken and there needs to be a resolve, but at the same time, we must protect the law and not establish a precedent that will come back to haunt us.”
It’s unclear if a decision by the judge will come Wednesday.
Pressed about whether he thinks Adams should be removed, Sharpton said, “My answer is we’re going to wait and see what the judge says tomorrow, so that we don’t set a precedent. Suppose that today she removed him, saying because he’s been indicted, and the judge says tomorrow, ‘I’m throwing out the indictment.’ So it would be premature to say that.”
11 AM -- Order shows judge's thinking going into hearing
Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho's order directing the Department of Justice and Mayor Adams' attorneys to appear in court on Wednesday sheds some light on his thinking going into the pivotal hearing.
At the start of his two-page order, Ho quoted from an opinion by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan that said Rule 48(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, which governs the government's request, was not created to shift absolute power from the Executive to the Judicial Branch but was intended “as a power to check power.”
The appeals court also wrote that the Executive Branch is “presumptively the best judge of whether a pending prosecution should be terminated” and advised that “pending prosecutions should not be judicially disturbed unless clearly contrary to manifest public interest.”
He also cited legal history noting that a judge has independent obligations once the government has involved the judiciary by obtaining an indictment or a conviction. And he quoted from one judicial opinion that said a judge must be “satisfied that the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial” before approving a dismissal.
9:20 AM -- Manhattan federal judge orders Wednesday hearing
Manhattan federal Judge Dale E. Ho on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice and Adams’ attorneys to appear in court at 2 p.m. Wednesday, ordering lawyers to address the reasons why the Justice Department asked to dismiss corruption charges and the “scope and effect” of the mayor’s consent.
In the order, Ho wrote in part, “The parties shall be prepared to address, inter alia, the reasons for the Government's motion, the scope and effect of Mayor Adams's ‘consent in writing.’” (Inter alia means "among other things.")
Ho set the hearing in a written order as his first response to the government’s Friday request to dismiss the charges after a weeklong turmoil that led to resignations by several top prosecutors in Washington and New York who refused to seek dismissal.
Ho also cited legal history noting that a judge has independent obligations once the government has involved the judiciary by obtaining an indictment or a conviction. And he quoted from one judicial opinion that said a judge must be “satisfied that the reasons advanced for the proposed dismissal are substantial” before approving a dismissal.
Adams was indicted in September on charges that included bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions.
Adams has been under increasing scrutiny since the Justice Department’s second-in-command ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week to drop his corruption case to ensure his cooperation in Trump’s immigration crackdown. The move raised questions about the mayor’s political independence and ability to lead the city.
7:30 AM -- Hochul says City Hall resignations raise 'serious questions'
In a lengthy statement Monday night, Hochul said in part, “I have asked key leaders to meet me at my Manhattan office for a conversation about the path forward, with the goal of ensuring stability for the City of New York.”
Among those expected to meet with the governor are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton. City Comptroller Brad Lander was also expected to speak with her.
Hochul—who has the power to remove Adams but has declined to do so since he was indicted in September—said the resignations of four of Adams’ deputy mayors over the holiday weekend “raises serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration.”
“Let me be clear: my most urgent concern is the well-being of my 8.3 million constituents who live in New York City,” the governor added. “I will be monitoring this situation extraordinarily closely to ensure that New Yorkers are not being shortchanged by the current crisis in City government.”
The city’s charter lays out a court-like process by which the governor must first serve the mayor with a copy of charges she feels warrant his removal, then provide him with “an opportunity to be heard in his defense.” But there is little precedent or blueprint for how that would work. As Hochul noted in her statement, the removal powers have never once been used against a sitting mayor in New York’s history.
7:15 AM -- Hochul meeting comes after tough weekend for Adams
Hochul's meeting will take place after a crushing weekend for Adams, with more officials across city and state government joining calls for his resignation, including the four deputy mayors—Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, and Anne Williams -Isom and Chauncey Parker.
“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future," Adams said Monday of the departures. “But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day."
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams—a key ally of the mayor who has no relation to him—also called for the mayor to step down Monday, saying in part, “We have endured enough scandal, selfishness and embarrassment, all of which distract from the leadership that New Yorkers deserve.”
Brad Lander, the city comptroller who is running for mayor, sent a letter to Adams on Monday, demanding he present a contingency plan by Feb. 21 for how he’ll run the city during the crisis and threatening to convene a meeting of the Inability Committee.
Adams—who has insisted he won’t resign and has denied any wrongdoing as relates to the corruption charges—said Monday that his critics are “attempting to rewrite my entire history for their own agenda.”
“They were protesting me the third day I was in office,” he said at a church in Brooklyn. “The same people, the same people have been rallying up, protesting over and over again.”
The mayor also took a cutting swipe at Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who called for him to step down last week and would be the next in line to temporarily replace Adams if he were to step down.
“I still don’t know what he does, because it’s hard to really serve the city when you wake up at noon and then try to go out,” Adams said. “If I step down the public advocate becomes the mayor. Can you imagine turning the city over to him? That is the top reason not to step down!”
Other leaders, including Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Nydia Velázquez, and Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, have called on Adams to step down.
In a statement Monday, a spokesperson for City Hall said: "Mayor Adams has been clear that his loyalty is solely to the 8.3 million New Yorkers he represents, and the mayor is always available to speak with the governor about how we can continue to deliver for them. Despite this investigation and case, we've simultaneously broken housing records, created the most jobs in the city's history, provided for hundreds of thousands of longtime New Yorkers and migrants, built unprecedented public spaces, and made our city safer at every level. As we have said, all deputy mayors remain in their roles for the time being to ensure a seamless transition and we are actively working to find their replacements. Just like it does every day, our city continues to move forward."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.