Mayor Adams doubled down on his declare that President Biden’s Division of Justice is politically motivated — touting a front-page New York Instances story specializing in the Hunter Biden pardon at a press briefing Tuesday
“President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump now agree on one thing: The Biden Justice Department has been politicized,” Adams learn from the story, holding up a duplicate of Tuesday’s Instances.
“Does that sound familiar? I rest my case,” Adams stated with fun.
The president’s choice to pardon Hunter Biden got here regardless of repeated assurances he would by no means take that step and has spurred widespread condemnation and conversations about different last-minute pardons Biden may difficulty.
In an announcement Sunday, Biden stated his son was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted” in his two federal instances. “I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice,” he stated.
The mayor has claimed that the 5 prices he’s going through in a federal corruption and bribery indictment had been political retaliation for his criticism of Biden over the migrant disaster.
“There’s almost a level of irony to this all,” Adams stated, drawing the parallel between himself and Hunter Biden.
President Biden and son Hunter Biden step out of a bookstore whereas buying in Nantucket, Mass., on Nov. 29. (Photograph by MANDEL NGAN/AFP by way of Getty Pictures)
In an opinion piece printed by the Wall Avenue Journal final week, the mayor replied “Yes, I do,” when requested if thought his prices had been retribution for criticizing the federal authorities over migrants.
“People were not happy with me. It doesn’t have to be the president, because there are a lot of other people unhappy that I fought for this city,” he advised the outlet.
Adams, who as soon as known as himself the “Biden of Brooklyn,” declined to remark additional on this on the press briefing, saying his attorneys have advised him to not converse on it.
“I believe in fighting for my rights,” Adams stated. “And this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my entire life of the onslaught of this. And I have to remain silent and I can’t answer and defend myself. That’s the hardest thing.”
The corruption investigation into the Adams marketing campaign exploded into public view in November 2023, when federal authorities carried out quite a few search warrants – together with on the Brooklyn residence of Adams’ fundraiser Brianna Suggs.
The connection between Biden and Adams had started to bitter in 2022 and 2023, with the arrival of hundreds of migrants to New York Metropolis. In Might 2023, Adams was snubbed when left off the listing of Biden’s reelection surrogates.
The investigation that might result in Adams being charged has been underway for greater than three years, in accordance with prosecution statements in courtroom and a submitting by Adams’ protection staff on the timeline for discovery on key paperwork within the case.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Hagan Scotten stated in courtroom on Oct. 2 that “this is an investigation that began in the summer of 2021. So that’s a period of time essential to the conduct here, but, for reference, it’s before the defendant had even become mayor.”
The Nov. 27 submitting echoes the identical timeline.
“Given the length of the government’s investigation here (3+ years), the almost certain need for the mayor’s counsel to obtain evidence from overseas … a disclosure deadline eight weeks before trial is the minimum amount of timethat will allow the mayor’s counsel to prepare effectively for trial,” the movement says.
Requested in regards to the timeline Tuesday, Adams declined remark.
The mayor was charged with bribery, wire fraud and secretly soliciting marketing campaign contributions from abroad donors in September. Adams has pleaded not responsible.
Though the mayor has stated he believes his modifications had been politically motivated, his attorneys haven’t made that argument in courtroom.
Initially Printed: December 3, 2024 at 7:49 PM EST
