New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday attended the annual political conference in Puerto Rico the day after Election Day, where potential rivals of the incumbent Democratic mayor will also be in attendance to lobby for support in 2025. He said he intended to attend.
Adams, who supported Vice President Harris as a presidential candidate and served as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, asked who he would vote for at his weekly press conference and whether he planned to attend the SOMOS conference. was asked.
“I always look forward to going to SOMOS. I feel like I've missed out on it for a few years. I'm planning on going, but I'm not 100% sure. I'd love to go,” Adams said. Ta. “It's a good time to meet people in Puerto Rico, so I have plans to go.”
“But, you know, I have a lot of work to do in the city,” the mayor added on the eve of the Nov. 5 election. “And if I can get a lot done by next week, I'm definitely going to go. But I'm not going to stay long no matter what. Who do I support and who do I support?” I made it clear that I was a representative from Chicago. ”
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks to reporters after a press conference on Monday, September 30, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Adams repeatedly refused to criticize former President Trump last week, declining to say when he last spoke to a Republican candidate or whether he is seeking a pardon if Trump is re-elected. He frowned.
President Trump has indicated that the Justice Department has indicted Adams for criticizing the federal government's response to the immigration crisis. Trump also mentioned Adams by name at a rally at Madison Square Garden, saying Democrats should not compare him to German expander Adolf Hitler or call him a “fascist.” I thanked the mayor.
The annual SOMOS conference begins Wednesday in San Juan. Adams participated in 2021 and 2022, but not last year.
Days before the conference was scheduled to begin in 2023, the FBI seized Adams' cellphone in connection with a federal corruption investigation.
The Justice Department indicted Adams in September on bribery, campaign finance and conspiracy charges.
The indictment alleges that Adams received airline upgrades and $100,000 worth of luxury travel benefits, as well as illegal campaign contributions from Turkish officials and other foreign nationals seeking to buy his influence. has been accused of. In return, prosecutors say, Adams sought favors for the Turkish government, including pressuring the fire department in 2021 to approve the opening of a consulate that it deemed unsafe.
Adams was holding another elected office as Brooklyn borough president at the time, but by then it was clear that he would become mayor.
Mayor Eric Adams will appear in federal court in New York on Friday, November 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Kenna Betancourt)
Adams has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The judge handed down the ruling Friday, amid a re-election campaign in which he promised his federal trial would begin next April.
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The SOMOS conference will provide an opportunity for potential primary challengers to Adams in Puerto Rico to seek support ahead of the 2025 mayoral election, New York City and State Government reported.
Leading mayoral candidates had already held their first candidate forum in the Bronx on the first day of early voting, the paper said. The meeting also included New York City Administrative Counsel Jumaane Williams, City Comptroller Brad Lander, State Senators Jessica Ramos and Zellner Miley, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Councilmember Zoran Miley. Mamdani and others were present.
There are rumors that former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor. It is unclear whether he will join SOMOS.
Mayor Eric Adams leaves a federal courthouse in New York on Friday, November 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Kenna Betancourt)
U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho set a trial date for the mayor on Friday, as Adams returns to Manhattan federal court for a hearing to eliminate key charges that threaten his political future. .
Mr Ho said he was confident the April 21, 2025 date would remain “unless something unexpected happens”. At the same time, prosecutors said they have not yet been able to decode Adams' personal cell phone, a potentially key piece of evidence. According to the indictment, Adams changed the password shortly before handing the phone over to authorities and then claimed to have forgotten it.
Adams' lawyers are fighting to have the bribery charge, one of five counts against the first-term Democrat, dismissed.
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They argued that the charges should not apply to Adams because they do not meet the criminal threshold recently lowered by the U.S. Supreme Court and include charges that date back to before Adams became mayor.
