It didn’t take long after the Justice Department dropped the sweeping corruption case against embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams for political and legal observers to weigh in on social media.
The new development came Monday when a senior Trump administration DOJ official turned Adams’ criminal prosecution on its head when he ordered government attorneys to withdraw the charges.
But the swift dismissal of the case – less than a month after Donald Trump returned to the White House – didn’t pass the smell test with social media users, with many calling out Adams for cozying up to the president in recent weeks.
“This isn’t justice,” Democratic strategist Chris D. Jackson wrote on his X account. “This is corruption in plain sight. The rule of law is officially dead.”
“Of all of NYC’s corrupt mayors, Eric Adams may be the most corrupt,” Mashable reporter Matt Binder told his followers on X. “But corruption pays off under Trump.”
Daily Beast columnist Wajahat Ali asked his Bluesky followers: “What did Eric Adams give up to Trump?” One user responded: “all the immigrants in NYC.”
That was a theory floating among other observers.
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“Eric Adams pretty much agreed to sidestep NY sanctuary protections, & make his city's immigrant residents more vulnerable to ICE, in pursuit of naked personal gain & a shield from corruption charges,” Journalist Daniel Nichanian, editor-in-chief of Bolts, wrote on Bluesky.
“Eric Adams sold out New Yorkers to buy his own freedom, but he’ll never escape the label of worst mayor in NYC history,” New York Democratic state Sen. Jessica Ramos, a mayoral candidate, said on X. “Donald Trump may think this buys him access to terrorize our communities, but New Yorkers always stand up for one another, no matter how many corrupt narcissists try to hurt our families.”
“Every day that Eric Adams spends in office until his term is up in January is on Kathy Hochul,” Emery University corporate/securities law professor Andrew Jennings told his followers on Bluesky.
Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson called Adams “the most lavishly corrupt NYC mayor in generations.”
While the social media account Art Candee wrote to her followers on X: "Donald Trump's DOJ is dropping the corruption charges against disgraced New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Birds of a feather. Shameful stuff."
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the owner of the social media account "Art Candee." This article has been updated.