Last Updated on 09/09/2024 by Arun jain
After perhaps the most challenging week of his political career, Mayor Eric Adams visited two black churches in Brooklyn on Sunday and compared himself to Job, the biblical righteous man who endured immense suffering but whose blessings were eventually restored.
The mayor has never directly addressed the many federal investigations swirling around his administration. last week, Officers took the phone His first deputy mayor, his chancellor of schools, his deputy mayor for public safety, his police commissioner and his senior adviser.
Yet he used his appearance at a black church — a friendly environment the mayor often uses for political messages — to liken the investigation to a burden placed on the job.
“Job lost everything, and even his wife questioned him. ‘Where is your faith? Where is God now?’ His friends rebuked him,” Mr. Adams said from the pulpit at Power and Authority Evangelical Ministry in East New York.
“And I wish I could tell you that I had a moment in my life that was a job moment. But I didn’t have one. I had several,” Meyer said.
Visits to the Changing Lives Christian Center and Power and Authority Evangelical Ministries — all but a few blocks in the electoral district where, in the 2021 Democratic primary, Mr. Adams won more than 76 percent of the first round. Vote – seemed designed to increase support among his base.
In a media appearance on Friday, he insisted that he was not bothered by this An avalanche of law enforcement activity last week, which stemmed from two separate investigations out of the Southern District of New York. Those federal prosecutors are also investigating Mr. Adams and his campaign committee Raising funds. As part of another federal investigation, out of the Eastern District of New York, authorities in February Two houses were searched Attached to Mayor’s Director of Asian Affairs.
In an interview Friday on PIX11 and WABC’s “Kats & Cosby,” a show hosted by John Catsimatidis, a billionaire friendly to the mayor, Mr. Adams repeatedly referred to the investigations as euphemistically “reviews,” even though city historians and the mayor’s rivals said the simultaneous inquiries The number was rare, if not unprecedented.
Neither Mr. Adams nor any of his aides have been charged with a crime, and the mayor denies wrongdoing.
The investigation of Mr. Adams and his campaign first came to light in November, when agents Brooklyn landed at home Its main fundraiser, Brianna SuggsAnd discovered The homes of Rana Abbasova, an assistant in his international affairs office, and Cenk Ocal, a former Turkish Airlines executive. Ms. Abbasova is cooperation with investigators.
Days later, federal agents contacted Mr. Adams left an event at New York University after picking up his phone.
At Changing Lives Christian Center, when Mr. Adams again referred to the “Job moment,” he leaned heavily on his life story.
“And when you come out of your job moment with your faith intact, you will be blessed tenfold,” Mr. Adams said. “Only God can get you out of being dyslexic, arrested, rejected, and now I’m elected mayor of the most powerful city in the world.”
After his remarks, four of the church’s pastors surrounded Mr. Adams, placed their hands on his shoulders and prayed for him. “Father, we know that when you are a public servant, then, Lord, evil forces want to come against you“ said Paul B. Mitchell, senior high priest.
On Friday, the idea that Mr. Adams was also targeted was raised by former Governor David Patterson, who said on WABC radio that Mr. Adams may be under federal investigation because he is “the first elected official in the country to protest. Your Migrants’ place in the city.” He provided no evidence for this statement.
Mr. Adams has Criticized President Biden and the federal government For not doing enough to help the city manage the influx of more than 200,000 migrants.
Christina Greer, a professor of political science at Fordham University, said she wouldn’t be surprised if the mayor’s political underpinnings are suspect in the investigation, especially since the mayor has not yet been named as a subject of charges or a target.
“There’s a lot of smoke out there right now,” Ms Greer said. “And smoke doesn’t always lead to fire“
After a service at Changing Lives Christian Center on Sunday, parishioners expressed support for the mayor, who will run for re-election in 2025.
“When you’re in political life and in the limelight, there are things that will be thrown at you,” said Elizabeth Armstrong, 62, a nurse. “And it’s not necessarily him, but the people around him, that make his job a little bit harder.”
Ms. Armstrong said she would vote for Mr. Adams next year.
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