As New York City Mayor Eric Adams faces growing calls to resign after being indicted on federal charges, a familiar name is surfacing as a possible replacement—former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout spoke with Newsweek about how voters electing Cuomo as mayor will not solve the current corruption in New York City.
“He had corruption scandal after corruption scandal, and I think people are going to be really looking for somebody who can just do the job,” Teachout said.
She described the type of candidate New York City residents are looking for.
“People want someone who’s going to focus on effective management and not use loyalty and centralized power to create the conditions for this kind of corruption regime,” Teachout said.
The 57-page indictment accuses Adams of accepting over $100,000 in undisclosed gifts such as luxury travel and hotel stays from Turkish businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official.
“This was a multi-year scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise, Eric Adams,” United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said at a press conference on Thursday.
Teachout, who is also a former Democratic candidate for New York Governor and Attorney General, discussed the case Williams has built against Adams.
“Each of these, on their own, are very powerful charges and Damian Williams has shown the receipts, quite literally, in the indictment,” Teachout said. “And they’re also very powerful combined. Jurors don’t like luxury vacations. They don’t like coverups. And when you see the combination of the campaign finance, the fraud and the bribery charges, it’s a pretty damning cocktail. I’d say that Adams is in real trouble.”
Prosecutors allege Adams’ campaign also illegally obtained funds from “straw” donors, individuals who claimed to donate their own money but were actually funded by wealthy individuals and foreign nationals. Teachout gave an example of how a foreign individual may illegally contribute to a campaign in the U.S.
“If you were a foreign national, you might find a cousin and say, ‘Can you make this donation on my behalf?’ So what shows up on the campaign finance rolls is a citizen green card holder, but in fact, it was just a pass through for somebody who otherwise couldn’t make a donation,” Teachout said.
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What’s Next for Adams
Several politicians have called on Adams to resign, including New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Teachout said Adams seems to be ignoring those calls for now.
“All bets are off in terms of what happens next,” Teachout said. “But we know that Adams will have a tendency to cling to power. That’s just who he is. He is not one to resign quickly.”
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Read “Andrew Cuomo’s Future As NYC Mayor: ‘Speculation Is Premature’” in Newsweek.