Mayor Eric Adams met US President Donald Trump on the White Home on Friday in a gathering that Adams framed as a coverage dialogue however one which left behind extra political questions than solutions.Adams’ workplace stated the go to aimed to push for federal support on infrastructure and social providers. The mayor highlighted tasks equivalent to a wind farm off Lengthy Island and plans for semiconductor manufacturing, saying in a video shared on-line, “We will need to have a dialogue with the White Home.”Nevertheless, Trump downplayed the assembly, telling reporters, “Virtually nothing. He got here in to say hi there. He was very good… I believe he truly got here in to thank me.”As reported by The New York Occasions, the timing of the go to was delicate. It got here the identical day almost 2,000 pages of paperwork had been unsealed associated to Adams’ deserted federal corruption case. The information revealed that FBI brokers and prosecutors had been nonetheless seizing telephones and pursuing search warrants in early February, simply days earlier than senior justice division officers intervened to close the case down.Federal prosecutors had been investigating Adams since 2021 over marketing campaign donations and free journey allegedly supplied in trade for political favours. Although Adams was charged final yr, the case was dropped in February by Trump’s justice division, citing issues it hindered Adams’ means to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.The transfer triggered resignations from no less than eight federal prosecutors, together with performing US lawyer in Manhattan Danielle Sassoon. US district decide Dale E Ho later dismissed the costs however criticised what seemed to be a quid professional quo, “dismissal of the indictment in trade for immigration coverage concessions.”Because the case ended, Adams has not solely prevented criticising Trump however has aligned himself with the administration. As per ABC New York, he beforehand agreed to re-open Rikers Island to ICE brokers and met with immigration chief Tom Homan. In February, he defended his method, “I am unable to get right into a yelling match simply because it feels good. I’ve to provide for this metropolis.”Nonetheless, critics say the mayor’s closeness to Trump is troubling. “Adams already gave up his independence as mayor to save lots of himself from felony prosecution,” stated state senator Zellnor Myrie, who’s working towards him. Comptroller Brad Lander referred to as the mayor’s posture “essentially the most humiliating capitulation possible.”
