New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday she is weighing removing New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office after four of top his deputies announced their resignations in the latest fallout from the Justice Department’s push to end his corruption case.

Summary

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering removing NYC Mayor Eric Adams after four top deputies resigned amid controversy over his corruption case.

The Justice Department dropped Adams’ case, allegedly to secure his cooperation with Trump’s immigration crackdown, sparking backlash.

Seven federal prosecutors quit in protest, and Democratic leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Adams’ resignation.

Adams, who denies wrongdoing, faces a tough reelection. Hochul stressed that removing a mayor is unprecedented but said the situation “cannot be ignored.”

  • @robbinhood
    1•3 days ago

    I’m not a we go high when they go low kinda guy but it’ll be really hard for a governor to act like Trump. And it’ll be especially hard if said governor has to go up against Trump. It’s hard to compel Trump because who enforcers anything on him? Yet Trump is probably drooling at the possibility of sending federal agents to arrest a governor.

    None of this makes Trump’s abhorrent behavior okay, of course.

    • @[email protected]
      1•3 days ago

      At some point, public officials have a responsibility to put their duty to public before their own safety and comfort. I get that its hard to oppose Trump, which is why the people most empowered to do so should be doing every single thing they can to stand in his way.

      Do you honestly think having some legal justification would change anything about how Trump would respond?

      • @robbinhood
        1•3 days ago

        “Do you honestly think having some legal justification would change anything about how Trump would respond?”

        Not sure where you’re going with this. Sadly, we’re in a might makes right era. I’d be surprised if Trump pays more than cursory attention to the lawyers advising him.

        Pretty much the only thing the governor can do is political theater or resigning in protest (which Trump could care less about).

        • @[email protected]
          1•3 days ago

          Where im going is that it doesn’t matter whether they have a legal basis to dismiss Adams or not. Trump will claim what they’re doing is illegal either way and act accordingly. Who is going to stop him?

          If it’s all fucking theater anyway then make it a scene. Get arrested. Making them devote even a small amount of resources and attention on you is infinitely more valuable than just letting them get away with it again or resigning in worthless protest. Being a political prisoner for defying fascism is a hell of a lot more admirable than sending the national guard into the subway to harass commuters over some imagined crisis.

          • @robbinhood
            1•3 days ago

            Yeah I think we all agree Trump doesn’t give AF about what’s legal. But crucially, Trump can do that because he’s commander in chief of the world’s largest military, has a Supreme Court that supports him, has a rabid base that would go to war for him, and a Congress that overall is more favorable to him than Democrats.

            In other words, Trump is in a position to flout rules. The governor is not. This doesn’t make me happy. I don’t support it. But it is what it is.

            • @[email protected]
              1•3 days ago

              If the governor is completely powerless in the face of Trump then there’s no reason to even look into this because the law doesn’t matter. If the only reason you wont do it is because you’re concerned about retaliation from Trump then that will happen regardless of legal justification. So either you accept the consequences of action and take it, or let Trump continue to plow ahead full steam. There is no world in which the person looking for a legal basis to avoid Trump’s wrath will ever take action on anything that might provoke him, so this entire exercise is already political theater.

              • @robbinhood
                1•3 days ago

                So what does the governor do? What does anyone do? What’s “the” action? The only avenue forward is hopefully legal measures because if governor breaks any serious laws she’s done and nothing happens.

                Yeah, it is all political theater because one party is much more powerful than the other.

                • @[email protected]
                  1•3 days ago

                  She does politics. Go out there and demand his fucking resignation, declare of state of emergency and use those powers to remove him; make them stop you. Call for protests, call for strikes. Use your office and the reach that it grants you. The reason they have so much more power is because they understand that politics is now almost entirely theater and they are playing to the crowd while the democrats try to appeal to some imagined referee.

                  • @robbinhood
                    1•3 days ago

                    I’m pretty sure once she crosses into “physical” action (not the right word but not sure what to use) she’s probably just getting removed herself. In this hypothetical case, maybe that encourages widespread resistance, but I think we’ll hear crickets in a few weeks.

                    If she’s going to extreme measures, probably best to do so as a last resort. She might be able to pin Adams under state laws or other mechanisms to try and remove him. If nothing else, better to go into a showdown with Trump with stronger legal backing.