Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat who in September pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges, maintained his innocence Friday while appearing on ABC's "The View."
Adams was charged with bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, according to the indictment. Prosecutors accuse him of using his power and influence to obtain free trips, luxury hotel stays, and questionable campaign donations.
If convicted on all charges, he faces up to 45 years in prison.
"I did nothing wrong," Adams told the show's hosts, according to Newsweek. "I spent 40 years of my life — 22 of them as a police officer — protecting the children and families of the city."
President-elect Donald Trump has publicly empathized with Adams, saying at the Al Smith charity dinner in New York City last month that he and the mayor were targets of politically motivated prosecutions.
"Mayor Adams, good luck with everything. They went after you," Trump said at the dinner.
"They went after you, mayor. Oh, boy, I knew that. Nine-and-a-half months ago, I said, 'He just said something about the [Biden] administration. He's going to be indicted any moment.' And guess what happened?
"But you're going to win. I think you're going to win. I know you're going to win. So good luck. I don't like what they do," Trump said.
Sunny Hostin, a panelist on "The View," asked Adams about the charges he is facing and whether he has "embraced" Trump to get pardoned or have the charges dropped. Adams did not directly answer the question.
"Nothing is more challenging than not being able to defend yourself in public," Adams said. "I said it over and over again: I did nothing wrong. ... I live my life the way I expect everyday New Yorkers are supposed to live their life. I have a legal team. They're going to manage that case.
"My job is to do what I have done since Jan. 1, 2022: make sure crime goes down in the city, record number of housing that's built in the city, turn around our economy, and make sure as you leave this place [the TV studio] that you can enjoy the safety of the city. That's my job."
Adams said he disagrees with Trump's plan to conduct mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
"We have a broken immigration system," he said. "I don't believe in mass deportation, but I don't believe in mass saturation. [A total of] 220,000 migrants and asylum seekers came to the city, costing us $6.4 billion.
"I'm not allowed to let them work. I'm not allowed to have them be participating in a tax base of this city. We can't deport those who commit crimes in our city. We are not allowed to connect with ICE [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. This is a failed system."