Eric Adams is reportedly on the verge of taking the Trump administration to court, even after the Justice Department dropped criminal charges against Adams.
City Hall officials became aware of $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds missing from city coffers earlier this week, Politico reported Friday. The funds are supposed to assist the nation’s most populated city in providing migrants with shelter and other services.
“The Law Department is currently drafting litigation papers with respect to this matter,” Muriel Goode-Trufant, the city’s corporation counsel, wrote to City Comptroller Brad Lander. “We intend to initiate legal action by February 21, 2025.”
The removal of the funds “followed a misleading X post” by tech billionaire Elon Musk “about how the grants are spent,” according to Politico. Lander, who is mounting a primary challenge against Adams, told Politico in a statement he was glad “our pressure campaign finally got the Mayor to do what he should have done immediately after we uncovered the stolen $80 million from Elon Musk, which is stand up for New Yorkers and fight.”
Reports of the pending lawsuit emerged a day after Trump’s Justice Department stunned Capitol Hill and sent shockwaves through legal circles across the country when it announced it would dismiss a sweeping set of corruption charges against Adams.
But Adams’ City Hall appears ready to go head-to-head with the Trump administration to try to regain the FEMA money.
Adams’ “whirlwind week” came to a close Friday with a Fox News appearance alongside Trump “border czar” Tom Homan, which further bolstered the scrutiny surrounding his pardon a day earlier, Politico noted. Adams later issued a statement in an attempt to tamp down the suspicions.
“I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never,” he said. “I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first.”
