Adams sat down with the talk show host for an “unfiltered” discussion at Gracie Mansion in New York, and the mayor’s indictment was one of several topics they discussed. A grand jury indicted him in September on five counts, ranging from bribery to solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, though he has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The mayor attributed his indictment to “a combination of things.”

“I believe at the tip of it is I was extremely vociferous about what was happening to this city during the migrants and asylum-seeker issue,” Adams said on Dr. Phil’s Merit TV. “I live my life, not only when I was a law enforcement officer, but when I was a state senator, a president, and now the mayor, of following the law. And when you look into the crevices of the indictment, it clearly shows that something is just not right.”

Adams said “the only consolation” he has amid the indictment is that his mother is not alive, as he would not want her to see him face this legal battle. He added that “no American should go through what I’m going through” and that his legal battle runs counter to his fight for “proper criminal justice.”

“I’m going to fight it, and it’s important that I do so because I know I haven’t done anything wrong,” Adams said. “I served this city as a police officer, I served this city as a state senator, as a borough president, and I’m serving it as a mayor. And I think that my story is an American story, and I’m going to fight to the bitter end for this city.”

The full interview between Dr. Phil and Adams will air on Merit at 8 p.m. Monday.

Speculation has grown in recent weeks that Adams, a Democrat, could swap political parties, as he claimed he is “part of the American party” and has also expressed cooperation to work with the incoming Trump administration’s deportations of illegal immigrants. However, Adams dismissed that possibility, calling himself a “true-blue” mayor while also being “a true blue-collar mayor.”

Last week, Dr. Phil interviewed incoming border czar Tom Homan, who emphasized the threat that illegal immigrant gangs, including Tren de Aragua, pose to the United States. He also warned these gangs that they would be in trouble once President-elect Donald Trump takes office next year, as “my gang’s bigger than their gang.”