Staff Reports
There’s an unwritten rule in the Democratic Party: criticize the powers that be, and you might just find yourself in hot water. Former NYPD cop and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams appears to be learning this lesson the hard way. His troubles began after he aired concerns regarding the Biden administration’s lax border policies, which apparently got him on the radar of federal investigators.
Adams’ 2021 campaign is now reportedly under investigation for potentially dubious ties to Turkey. While the mayor has not yet been labeled a “target” in this federal inquiry, the Boy Scouts in the FBI have seized his electronics and even raided his top aides. To add insult to injury, it seems Adams has been given the cold shoulder at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, a noticeable snub for a man leading the nation’s most populous city.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams told Bloomberg TV that the people of New York will see that he "did nothing wrong" after he was subpoenaed as part of a corruption probe by the Justice Department.
Watch his full interview from the sidelines of the DNC in Chicago https://t.co/KuQPblEn9X pic.twitter.com/1L3INr3D2Q
— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) August 21, 2024
Though Adams has not been officially named a target, the speculation is thick in the air. His Chief Counsel recently reported that neither Adams nor his staff have received formal notification, which naturally leaves the door open for rampant speculation. The investigation reportedly zeroes in on allegations of illegal foreign donations funneled into Adams’ campaign by the Turkish government, along with claims that he received preferential treatment on Turkish Airlines flights in exchange for playing nice with inspections related to safety violations at the new Turkish Consulate in Manhattan.
It’s a little ironic that just last month, the mayor was meekly trying to assert his innocence in the face of federal subpoenas demanding documents and communications from his campaign. Adams has repeatedly insisted that he’s done nothing wrong and is cooperating fully with the investigation. Yet, one can’t help but notice that the timing of these subpoenas coincides suspiciously with his reluctant endorsement of Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee. It appears that self-preservation might be the name of the game in a party that seems to punish even its own for questioning the status quo.
As Adams scrambled to align himself with the Biden-Harris ticket — a head-scratching endorsement that came after some not-so-subtle criticism of Harris’ performance as the “Border Czar” — the reality of his situation became painfully clear. Even after publicly placating party leaders, he still found himself lacking a speaking slot at the DNC, raising questions about how far his newfound loyalty would really get him.
In the wider context, this saga reflects the unfriendly terrain that any Democrat must navigate if they dare voice dissent. Eric Adams, once a promising figure in the party, now finds himself embroiled in a politically charged investigation that might just be the Democratic Party’s way of reaffirming loyalty to its principles. One thing is for sure: in this political landscape, keeping quiet about failures inevitably proves to be the safer bet.
