Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) accused the Trump administration of making New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, a “political pawn,” specifically due to a recent order by an appointee in the administration.
The appointee in question, the Department of Justice’s acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, had ordered prosecutors in New York City to sign off on dismissing the mayor’s bribery case, as Adams was indicted last year on federal corruption charges. While these judges have opted not to obey the order, Klobuchar considered this “another day in the Trump administration” increasing “corruption.”
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“Costs are up, chaos is up, and yes, corruption is up,” Klobuchar stated on CNN. “They have literally taken the mayor of New York City, who was facing, and is facing, serious charges of bribery, which were going to be expanded, and they have turned him into their own political pawn. And they have done this by trying to force career prosecutors in the Justice Department to drop the charges against him.”
The Minnesota senator went on to state that these prosecutors were not part of “the resistance,” but rather people, like attorney Danielle Sassoon, who opted to resign from her position as acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York rather than obey the Trump administration’s order. Klobuchar then stated she hoped that her colleagues in Congress would show a similar level of “fortitude” against Trump, specifically on remaining administration nominees who have yet to be confirmed, including FBI director nominee Kash Patel.
Former federal prosecutor Shan Wu told the Washington Examiner that the order to dismiss Adams’s bribery case was “a great blow” to the reputation of the Justice Department. Conservative legal analyst Dan McLaughlin has similarly deemed the move “galactically stupid & dangerous policy” on the part of the Trump administration.
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The attempt by the Trump administration to dismiss the mayor’s bribery case comes as some have raised the possibility of President Donald Trump granting a pardon to Adams, which Trump himself stated in December that he would “certainly” look into it. It comes as Adams has sought to work with the Trump administration, specifically on aiding the administration’s work against illegal immigration in the Big Apple.
Prior to joining the Democratic Party, Adams was previously a part of the Republican Party from 1995 through 2002, and speculation was raised last year that he could rejoin the Republican Party when he said in December that he is “part of the American party.” However, the mayor dismissed the possibility of a party change, calling himself a “true blue” Democrat while also being a “true blue-collar” worker.