Mayor Eric Adams should stay and offer his defense to New Yorkers

Damian Williams, an American lawyer from the Southern District of New York, knows how to put on a show. Black SUVs pulling into the Gracie residence. Big colorful charts and stern government lawyers standing with folded hands. “A multi-year plan,” Williams intoned, “designed to buy favor with one New York politician on the rise: Eric Adams.”

This is all nice and furious, but is it as serious as Williams claims?

At first glance, the Turkish government received “favors” from Mayor Adams in the form of small potatoes. Cutting red tape to open the Turkish consulate on time. Position on the transition team. And what did Adams get in return? Campaign donations. And a first class upgrade on Turkish Airlines. #Extra leg gate.

The latter is embarrassing, but may not be illegal. The straw donation program is more serious, but Adams denies knowing anything about it.

It is in the best interest of fairness – and in the best interest of New York – to allow Adams to present his defense later in the term.

The resignation crowd argues that he is so distracted that he cannot lead and that his administration is in chaos, with many employees either quitting or running for the exits.

But the alternative is a recipe for similar chaos.

The vultures already circling will lead Gotham to disaster, starting with the man who will temporarily take over if Adams steps down or is removed: Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

An anti-police funding radical who would rather get arrested at protests than actually solve problems could even make the crime situation worse in the short term.

A special election will follow, likely in early 2025.

Adams’s declared election rivals so far are also a terrible collection of unserious progressive loudmouths or wannabes. Meanwhile, the disgraced former governor. Andrew Cuomo smells blood in the water and circulates.

Republicans? City Councilman Joe Borelli has said he’ll run on the special, and maybe another reasonable option will come along from somewhere – but the Democrats’ citywide recruiting advantage is more than frightening.

The decision to prosecute Adams undoubtedly carries a strong political tone: the investigation clearly gained momentum after the mayor infuriated the White House by speaking out loudly about the impact of the border crisis on New York.

And the entire Southern District Court’s press on Adams’ officials – and even the raid on the home of interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon last week, just days after he took the job of the NYPD, over documents he had apparently kept for nearly two decades – only adds these suspicions.

The reputation of prosecutors and trust in the justice system over the last few years, from the treatment of Hunter Biden and Donald Trump to biased district attorneys and the cavalier treatment of violent criminals, has been frankly terrible.

We reserve the right to judge whether Mayor Adams acted wrongly. The law is the law and a fair legal process will lead to the truth.

The coming days will reveal the strength of the criminal case against Adams and his ability to solve it.

But there’s no point in rushing. Either way, New Yorkers will decide next year whether to keep him for a second term or choose a new direction.

In the meantime, what they really want is for someone to continue fighting crime, fighting the tsunami of anti-Semitism in the city, dealing with the migration crisis, confronting the rising cost of living, dealing with the housing crisis, and improving the system’s terrible student achievement education.