ADAMS INDICTMENT: WHEN SHOULD INDICTED OFFICEHOLDERS RESIGN?

It’s national news: for the first time in its 126 years of post-Five Boroughs NYC Mayors, one has been criminally indicted. Eric Adams, a former NYPD Captain and Brooklyn Borough President, was elected in 2021, and ever since, he and his top aides have been under federal criminal investigation. In recent months, his Fire Commissioner and Police Commissioner have resigned under clouds; the Police Commissioner resigned after his home was the target of search warrants, and his replacement immediately suffered the same fate of a search warrant executed at his home.

The indictment is 57 pages long, incredibly lengthy for five charges, and it details the charges and evidence in degrees rarely seen in federal criminal cases. The media has focused on the luxurious, jet setting lifestyle Adams allegedly enjoyed, courtesy of foreign governments and businesses, never declared them, and tried to cover up the evidentiary trail when he learned he was under the microscope.

Those kinds of revelations of corrupt hypocrisy may titillate media followers, but it is not the really significant story. The media should focus on the campaign law violations, which directly harm the public, in ways no one can miss. It was the campaign violation scheme which led to the most egregious of the allegations against Adams: he pressured the NYFD to…