NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — President-elect Donald Trump said during a wide-ranging news conference Monday that he would consider pardoning New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who faces federal charges of fraud and corruption.
“Yes, I would,” consider pardoning Adams, Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, before saying he was not familiar with the details of the charges against Adam.
The mayor declined to speculate on a possible pardon and said the subject had not come up in their private conversations.
“The only thing we talk about is improving the city — the city I love, the city he loves,” Adams said.
Adams is accused of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks worth $100,000, as well as illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals seeking to buy influence. Several members of his administration have also been investigated, including Ingrid Lewis-Martin, chief adviser and longtime aide to Mayor Adams, who announced Sunday that she was resign from one’s position.
A Lower Manhattan grand jury has heard the evidence against Lewis-Martin and could vote on an indictment as early as this week.
On Monday, Lewis-Martin’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, said he expects his client to be indicted on criminal charges related to alleged inappropriate gifts, saying “we are almost certain that one day This week we will appear in court at 100 Center Street.” “
Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, told reporters at a news conference Monday that she had been invited to speak with the grand jury considering the charges but declined because the outcome of the investigation seemed predetermined. He said they wanted the opportunity to clarify emails and text messages that might be taken out of context but are “easily explained what they mean.”
The case involves gifts given to Lewis-Martin, Aidala said, but he declined to discuss further details and claimed – without providing evidence – that the case was politically motivated.
“Puzzle pieces are going to be put together to make this look as horrible as possible,” Aidala said while sitting alongside Lewis-Martin in his Manhattan office. “But we know the truth, and the truth is that Ingrid Lewis-Martin never broke the law.”
Lewis-Martin also passionately defended his career in public service at his attorney’s office in Midtown.
“I’m being falsely accused of something. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know I was told it was something illegal, and I never did anything wrong. ‘illegal as a member of the government,’ she said. “And during my tenure, I never accepted any gifts, any money, anything. I made no arrangements in advance to accept any gifts or money, or for any gifts or money be offered to a member of my family or a friend in order to do my job.
Aidala said he believed Manhattan prosecutors were targeting Martin to get him to cooperate against Adams. She would likely be charged alongside others, he added, without specifying who else could face charges.
A spokesperson for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in an email that it would be “inappropriate” to comment “because this office acts with the highest integrity.”
The investigation into Lewis-Martin and several others focuses on the city’s leasing of commercial properties. This came to light when she returned from a trip to Japan in September and had her phones seized at the airport and her Brooklyn home searched.
The investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is separate from the ongoing federal investigation into the mayor.
As for the mayor himself, the New York City Campaign Finance Board refusal of public matching funds for his re-election bid on Monday.
Nineteen candidates received matching funds for their 2025 campaigns, but Adams was not one of them.
The board rarely comments publicly on why an applicant does not receive funds, but it made a rare exception.
The board chairman said it was in the public interest for him to speak out on the reasoning behind the decision.
“After carefully reviewing all available information, including the details of Mayor Adams’ indictment, the Board has determined that there is reason to believe that the Adams campaign engaged in conduct detrimental to the matching funds program in violation of the law, including the Campaign Finance Act and Board Rules,” said Board Chairman Frederick P. Schaffer.
Mayor Adams remained defiant, vowing to persevere despite the federal indictment against him and without matching funds.
“As New Yorkers know, I don’t sit back and complain about obstacles, I overcome them every time people tell me what I can’t do, I continue to show that I can do it” , Adams said. “And I have that energy and that spirit, and I have enough money to run a good campaign and get my message out and continue to lead in this area.”
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