NY Gov Threatens to Remove NYC Mayor Over Indictments – But Notice the Suspicious Timing

One of the vagaries of New York state law is that the governor can remove certain officials if they so choose.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is apparently in jeopardy of falling afoul of Gov. Kathy Hochul in this matter; after the Department of Justice dropped charges of corruption against the mayor in the run-up to the 2025 election, with the option to bring them again, several key officials resigned, and New York City Comptroller Brad Lander requested that Adams prove he was still able to govern effectively.

“Given the gravity of this situation and the chaos it has unleashed among New Yorkers, I formally request that your office promptly develop and present a detailed contingency plan outlining how you intend to manage the City of New York during this period of leadership transition,” he said in a letter to Adams, Fox News reported.

Hochul, too, seemed to intimate she wanted to make a move on Adams, noting in a statement that the powers of removal “have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor” in the 235 years they’ve been constitutionally available, she said there were “serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration.”

Which raises the question: Why now, given that the charges can be brought again after the election, as the Department of Justice noted in its court filing, and the corruption charges date back to September of last year?

As one prominent conservative columnist and legal analyst noted, the move was suspiciously timed: It came right after Adams, a law-and-order Democrat who clashed with the former Biden administration, promised to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on getting criminal immigrants deported.

First, Gov. Hochul’s move: According to Fox News, she said, she plans to meet with “key leaders” on Tuesday to discuss what she termed a “path forward.”

She had spoken to four New York City deputy mayors — all strong allies of hers — who resigned in the wake of the DOJ’s decision to drop charges against Adams for now.

In a filing, the DOJ “concluded that dismissal is necessary because of appearances of impropriety and risks of interference with the 2025 elections in New York City” and “would interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City.”

Adams was accused of receiving benefits from Turkish nationals which, prosecutors alleged, led to a quid pro quo where a Turkish consular building was allowed to open without a proper fire inspection. Adams has called the move lawfare, an argument that President Donald Trump has seemed sympathetic to.

Hochul, on the other hand, is quite a bit less sympathetic on the matter.

“In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,” Hochul said in a statement.

“That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”

🚨 Gov. Kathy Hochul is seriously considering removing Mayor Eric Adams: pic.twitter.com/DqgeUl0mAq

— Emma G. Fitzsimmons (@emmagf) February 18, 2025

However, National Review senior writer Dan McLaughlin noted the felicity in the timing of Hochul’s announcement: “Note that she didn’t even contemplate this when he was indicted for corruption for being on the Turkish payroll. Only when he agreed to cooperate with the enforcement of federal law.”

Note that she didn’t even contemplate this when he was indicted for corruption for being on the Turkish payroll. Only when he agreed to cooperate with the enforcement of federal law. https://t.co/WOPlPnoHXt

— Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) February 18, 2025

McLaughlin is referring to meetings last week with border czar Tom Homan in which Adams promised ICE would be able to open an office on Rikers Island, New York City’s main jail, among other things.

“The far left has hijacked this narrative [that] ICE is running in our schools, ICE is running in our churches, and they are creating this frenzy,” he said during an interview with Homan on Fox News.

“They’re not in the business of just grabbing children. We need to just stop all this noise.

“Rikers Island, particularly after all the reforms, Rikers Island is now having some of the most dangerous people in our city,” he continued. “And by having ICE on Rikers Island, part of our gang intelligence, using our intel with NYPD correction officers, we could identify those gangs inside and outside on the street.”

One might also go even a step further and note that, while the alleged wrongdoing between Adams and Turkish officials started back in 2014, the case was filed in the heat of election season — and after Adams had spent months hammering the Biden administration on its open-borders policies and the hell it hath wrought upon New York City.

That being said, that’s taking a jump further. Hochul has had since September to contemplate this — and only now, after Adams announces his cooperation with ICE and her more progressive Democratic allies resign, does she consider it? The corruption charges, after all, seem a bit more concerning than whether or not NYC has deputy mayors for a spell. It’s almost as if that isn’t the issue, because it likely isn’t.

I guess if you’re going to do lawfare, you might as well go all the way. Abandon subtlety. Politicians who get strange ideas about fixing problems the establishment folks have caused will get the point even more bluntly — alas.

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