New York City Mayor Eric Adams won’t say whether he hopes to attend President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration ceremony after Trump said that he would consider pardoning Adams.
Adams, a Democrat, was indicted in September on federal charges, including bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and unlawful solicitation of campaign contributions. He has pleaded not guilty and claims that the charges are retaliation for supporting hard-line immigration policies.
With the mayor seemingly becoming more friendly toward Trump and his incoming administration since his indictment, the president-elect confirmed that he would “look at” a pardon for Adams during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago on Monday.
During a press conference a short time later, Adams did not directly address a possible pardon from Trump but said his attorney would “look at every avenue to ensure I get justice,” insisting that he was the victim of a “politicized” justice system.
Adams also sidestepped a question about whether he was “seeking an invitation” to Trump’s inauguration while seemingly touching on a Friday report from The New York Times that claimed two unnamed advisers were “quietly trying to secure a ticket” for him to attend Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
“There are methods to request attending [the inauguration] or to receive invitations,” Adams said. “No one from this office was authorized to reach out in any way and request participating in the inauguration or any other actions. If that determination is made, there’s a clear process on how we do that.”
“So, those who have been excited about, you know, the incoming administration and would like for me to attend, they’re gonna reach out,” he continued. “You know, people have relationships. But that did not come from City Hall.”
Adams said that people who do not work at City Hall but are “around” him “may have just reached out.” They asked about “the possibilities” and “methodologies” of attending the inauguration without any official request.
Newsweek reached out to Adams’ office via email for comment on Monday.
The New York Times report claimed that Adams was “interested in taking part in the inaugural festivities” and was orchestrating the supposed effort to reach out because he “wanted to know if he would be welcome.”
However, Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy told the newspaper that the mayor had not had “any conversations about participating in the presidential inauguration and has no plans to do so at this time.”
New York mayors do not usually attend presidential inaugurations. Former Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, did not attend Trump’s first inauguration and instead protested the ceremony in 2017.
Recent remarks and actions by Adams, including his friendly meeting with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan in New York last week, have prompted speculation that the mayor could become a Republican—something that Adams referred to as “fake news” during an interview on The Reset Talk Show on Friday.
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