March 3, 2025 Herb Booker
I will admit that the title of this piece will raise some eyebrows. “What in the world could he be talking about”?
I’m pretty sure that most of you are aware of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 57-page indictment from September 2025 that accused the 64-year-old mayor of being a willing agent for the Turkish government trading influence for illegal campaign funds and free trips around the world. The charges also include fraud, bribery and soliciting contributions from foreigners. Luxury travel provided by Turkey was in exchange for taking actions in New York City to benefit Turkey.
In comes the Donald Trump Department of Justice with an offer to Mayor Adams that many legal experts consider a quid pro quo. Essentially, the mayor’s federal charges would be dismissed “with prejudice” meaning that the charges could be refiled at any time if the mayor did not assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the apprehension of undocumented migrants in New York City.
To be fair, a defendant is innocent until proven guilty, and Mayor Adams has pled innocent, but the problem is, who would be the real mayor of New York City? In effect, if this scheme takes shape, Donald Trump would be the de facto mayor of New York City. To be blunt, Mayor Adams would be Donald Trump’s modern-day slave.
Think of the ramifications. Donald Trump could skew the awarding of city contracts to his friends or deny them to his enemies de facto. Trump could determine the outcome of city building safety inspections for his properties and those of his competitors to his advantage. If you need a dog catcher, you can call Trump direct, and the issue will get addressed, and on and on.
The main problem I have with Mayor Adams’ potential subserviency and total capitulation to the Trump administration was his appearance on Fox news with the border czar Tom Holman. While everyone was on set yukking it up, and while they were discussing New York City undocumented migrant deportations, Tom Holman stated, “If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City and we won’t be sitting on the couch, I’ll be in his office, up his butt saying, “Where the hell is this agreement we came to”?
Well, first of all, Tom Holman’s comment solidifies the fact that the Trump administration and Mayor Adams are involved in a quid pro quo, even though that fact has been disputed. Secondly, Tom Holman’s comment was totally disrespectful to Mayor Adams’, and frankly quite disgusting. My first thought was, what will they do to him next, sit him on the lawn and rub…well, I won’t go there?
Let me be clear, I am not very sympathetic to Mayor Admas’ plight. He made his bed, and now he needs to lie in it if the Trump administration’s scheme to dismiss his felony charges in an effort to garner Mayor Adams support comes to fruition.
Unfortunately for Mayor Adams, Federal Judge Dale E. Ho canceled the corruption trial for New York City Mayor Eric Adams and appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to present arguments against the government’s case-drop request. He won’t decide before mid-March whether to grant the dismissal of the case against the embattled mayor of the nation’s largest city.
And the saga continues!
All opinions herein are solely the opinion of Herb Booker. Comments are welcome, and can be sent to hbooker2@yahoo.com, or at the bottom of the page. Next week, “The Attack On Federal Employees”.