Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Friday that his Florida lunch with President-elect Donald Trump centered strictly around U.S. and world affairs – with not a peep mentioned about his upcoming federal bribery trial.
But not all were immediately convinced that Adams did not bring up the possibility of a pardon as he dined with Trump, who is set to become the first convicted felon to enter the White House.
“To be clear, we did not discuss my legal case,” Adams said in a statement, as reported by Politico. “And those who suggest the mayor of the largest city in the nation shouldn’t meet with the incoming president to discuss our city’s priorities because of inaccurate speculation or because we’re from different parties clearly care more about politics than people.”
The New York mayor, a Democrat who, like Trump, has lashed out at the Justice Department as over-politicized, said the two instead had “a productive conversation about New York’s needs and what’s best for our city, and how the federal government can play a more helpful role in improving the lives of New Yorkers,” according to a Friday evening statement from Adams obtained by Politico.
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Specifically, he said topics included the Middle East cease-fire deal, manufacturing jobs in the Bronx and infrastructure.
Also at the lunch in West Palm Beach: Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.; a longtime adviser to Adams Frank Carone; and New York investor Steve Witkoff, a longtime friend and golf buddy of Trump, who he named as his special envoy to the Middle East, according to Politico.
Federal prosecutors charged Adams as part of a federal investigation into bribery, wire fraud, and receiving illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals. He is set to go on trial in April in the bribery case, Politico noted.
“Adams’ opponents in the upcoming Democratic primary characterized his trip as a desperate effort to obtain clemency,” Politico reported. “And Al Sharpton has suggested the closer Adams gets to Trump, the less appealing he will become to his core base of Black voters.”
The publication added that once Trump returns to the Oval Office on Monday, “he will have the power to pardon Adams or intervene in his case, something the president-elect has said he is considering.”