New York City Mayor Eric Adams in January 2024, following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address at the Capitol in Albany.

New York Mayor Eric Adams at The Egg in January, attending Gov. Kathy Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address.

If a public official accepts a personal benefit in exchange for official acts, we would call it a clear case of quid pro quo corruption — whether the personal benefit in question is a briefcase full of $100 bills slipped under a cafe table by a mobster, luxurious travel accommodations dangled by a real estate developer seeking a speedy building code variance, or a prosecutor’s assurance that the public official will be rescued from criminal jeopardy.

In September, New York City Mayor Eric Adams was charged by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York with accepting various goodies — from deluxe international travel to illicit campaign contributions — from foreign businesspeople and at least one member of the Turkish government. The 57-page indictment alleged bribery and wire fraud involving more than $100,000 in benefits that he and his staff disguised and leveraged into millions in matching public funds. In exchange, prosecutors say, Mr. Adams did his benefactors official favors, including pressuring a fire commissioner to approve the occupancy of a new Turkish consular building even though it had failed a fire inspection.

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Claiming without evidence that he was being targeted by the Biden administration, Mr. Adams engaged in what can only be described as a series of rituals of obeisance designed to curry favor with now-President Donald J. Trump, including a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago, attendance at the inauguration and,........

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