New York Gov. Kathy Hochul “is basically blackmailing [New York City Mayor Eric] Adams and demanding that he not cooperate with the federal government in rounding up illegal immigrants in New York City,” Dick Morris said.
“What happened was that the feds under [former President Joe] Biden indicted him on charges that are ridiculous and phony,” Morris said Saturday on Newsmax TV’s “Saturday Report.”
“He upgraded to first class airfare on Turkish Airlines. Big deal. And then [President Donald] Trump dropped the charges, and the Democrats yelled, ‘hey, this is an outrageous deal.’
“What you're doing is you drop the charges so that he cooperates with your immigration policy. And then Hochul was pressured to remove Adams from office, which she legally can do. And she said, I'm not going to remove him, but I will put him in handcuffs and really restrict his power as mayor and cut them back and erode the centuries of home rule in New York.
“And what she's doing is basically holding him hostage and saying, ‘if you cooperate with ICE, I'm going to crack down on you. And she's incentivizing him, almost requiring him to break the law,” he added.
Hochul in late February unveiled oversight measures she said are meant to prevent undue influence by the White House.
She said her priority was “to stabilize the city and restore calm” while ensuring government services continue apace, and “to make sure our leaders are operating only with the city’s best interest in mind, unimpeded by any legal agreements with the Trump Justice Department.”
“There’s a clear line,” she added, “between cooperation and coercion.”
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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