New York Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted in federal court on two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals and one count of bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud.
Adams, a Democrat elected in 2021, is the first sitting New York Mayor to be criminally charged while in office.
The focus of my thoughts aren't the merits of the case but its political implications.
On one hand, it could be to the benefit to former President Trump who was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a New York courtroom earlier this year. The argument being that all politicians are corrupt, and that Trump is no better or worse than anyone else as demonstrated by Adams' indictment.
On the other hand, this undermines the so-called deep state argument of weaponizing the federal government. Yes, Trump has been subject to criminal prosecutions at both the state and federal level, but the DoJ has also gone after Texas Democratic Congressman Henry Cuellar, former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, Hunter Biden and now Adams. Some deep state.
Mind you, this hasn't prevented Adams from claiming the motivation for the charges are his criticisms of the Biden Administration's handling of the migrant crisis. Adams' claim is downright Trumpy.
The greatest political impact of Adams indictment might not be so much in the race for the White House, but rather control of the House of Representatives with Democrats trying to flip several New York area districts which went Republican in 2022. How else does one explain New York Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik calling Democrats the "cult of corruption" with a straight face while fervently supporting Trump's re-election bid?
Of course, no one has a monopoly on virtue. Trump and Adams aren't the first corrupt politicians, and they are far from the last. Yet whatever criminal liability Adams might possess, he never attempted to overturn an election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Trump presents a unique threat to our constitutional order than no other corrupt politician, Democrat or Republican, ever has before.
The question is if the voters be able to see the difference and make the distinction up and down the ballot.
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