Al Sharpton insists Trump must pardon NYC Mayor Eric Adams or ‘leave him alone’
President Donald Trump must pardon Mayor Eric Adams immediately — because it’s the only way Hizzoner won’t feel beholden to the Republican commander in chief, Rev. Al Sharpton insisted Saturday.
The longtime civil-rights activist and Adams ally accused Trump of “playing by two sets of rules,” issuing pardons to participants of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, while merely ordering Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop their historic corruption charges against Adams.
The Friday motion to dismiss Adamsâ€?case left room for the charges to be revived at a later date, and political enemies of Adams have accused him of being at Trump’s mercy.
“Did you see the film on January 6th? Trump pardoned all of them,�said Sharpton at his National Action Network headquarters in Harlem.
“These people urinated in congressmen’s offices, all of that, called them hostages. Now you turn around trying to hold Eric and the City of New York as hostages? Some of us won’t sit back quietly,” claimed Sharpton.
“We’re not calling on [Gov.] Hochul,” he said, a reference to those who want the governor to remove Adams from his post. “We’re calling on Trump to pardon him or leave him alone.”
Hochul — the only New York official who can remove Adams from office — has refused to rule out the possibility. However, some political insiders are skeptical Hochul would oust Adams without first having support from black leaders like Sharpton, lawmakers and voters.
The motion to dismiss, which still needs judicial approval, claims the prosecution was politically motivated by former Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams, as well as a potential public safety threat since Adams had his security clearance yanked over the charges. The DOJ also contended the case comes too close to the mayor’s re-election bid.
The motion fails to address the actual bribery charges against Adams.
Adams has adamantly denied any wrongdoing or being beholden to Trump, and the president has insisted he never asked the DOJ to issue Adams a get-out-of-jail-free card.
