The question has hung over New York City politics for months: Would Donald J. Trump pardon Mayor Eric Adams if he was convicted on federal corruption charges?
On Monday, Mr. Trump said he would consider it.
Mr. Trump was asked at a wide-ranging news conference in Florida whether he would consider pardoning Mr. Adams, and he replied yes. The president-elect said that the mayor of New York had been treated “pretty unfairly” by federal prosecutors.
“Being upgraded in an airplane many years ago — I know probably everybody here has been upgraded,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, was indicted on federal corruption charges in September and is expected to go on trial in April. The mayor is accused of receiving thousands of dollars’ worth of travel benefits from Turkish officials over several years, including flight upgrades on Turkish Airlines.
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Mr. Adams has found a political ally in Mr. Trump, a Republican who has defended Mr. Adams and said that both men were “persecuted” by federal prosecutors.
Mr. Adams has praised parts of Mr. Trump’s agenda and said that he hopes to work with him on cracking down on immigrants who are accused of crimes, raising alarm among many Democratic elected officials.
Mr. Adams, a former police officer who was once a registered Republican, recently opened the door to becoming a Republican again. Two of his advisers have been quietly trying to secure a ticket for Mr. Adams to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration in Washington next month.
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he would need to review the details of the case. But Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he had predicted that Mr. Adams would be indicted after the mayor criticized the Biden administration over an influx of more than 200,000 migrants into the city.
Mr. Adams has similarly argued that he was targeted by federal prosecutors because of his public statements about the migrant crisis.
In October, Mr. Trump and Mr. Adams attended a charity event in Manhattan where Mr. Trump expressed empathy for the mayor’s situation.
“I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the D.O.J. for speaking out against open borders,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Justice Department. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.”
Mr. Trump said in an interview with Time magazine that one of his first acts as president would be to pardon people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault.
On Monday, Mr. Trump said he would consider it.
Mr. Trump was asked at a wide-ranging news conference in Florida whether he would consider pardoning Mr. Adams, and he replied yes. The president-elect said that the mayor of New York had been treated “pretty unfairly” by federal prosecutors.
“Being upgraded in an airplane many years ago — I know probably everybody here has been upgraded,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, was indicted on federal corruption charges in September and is expected to go on trial in April. The mayor is accused of receiving thousands of dollars’ worth of travel benefits from Turkish officials over several years, including flight upgrades on Turkish Airlines.
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Mr. Adams has found a political ally in Mr. Trump, a Republican who has defended Mr. Adams and said that both men were “persecuted” by federal prosecutors.
Mr. Adams has praised parts of Mr. Trump’s agenda and said that he hopes to work with him on cracking down on immigrants who are accused of crimes, raising alarm among many Democratic elected officials.
Mr. Adams, a former police officer who was once a registered Republican, recently opened the door to becoming a Republican again. Two of his advisers have been quietly trying to secure a ticket for Mr. Adams to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration in Washington next month.
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he would need to review the details of the case. But Mr. Trump repeated his claim that he had predicted that Mr. Adams would be indicted after the mayor criticized the Biden administration over an influx of more than 200,000 migrants into the city.
Mr. Adams has similarly argued that he was targeted by federal prosecutors because of his public statements about the migrant crisis.
In October, Mr. Trump and Mr. Adams attended a charity event in Manhattan where Mr. Trump expressed empathy for the mayor’s situation.
“I know what it’s like to be persecuted by the D.O.J. for speaking out against open borders,” Mr. Trump said, referring to the Justice Department. “We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric.”
Mr. Trump said in an interview with Time magazine that one of his first acts as president would be to pardon people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault.
