Eric Adams Demonstrates Unmatched Skill in Phone Incompetence During Corruption Probe

By Nate Parker | Politics | September 27, 2024 |

By Nate Parker | Politics | September 27, 2024 |

The federal indictment against soon-to-be-former NYC Mayor Eric Adams is the gift that keeps on giving. The corruption is matched only by the incompetence of the conspirators. To recap Adam’s various criminal escapades, the former cop accepted over $100,000 in graft from various Turkish interests. This includes free and discounted flights that sent him 1,700 miles past his intended destination so he could take Turkish Airlines, and discounted hotel rooms. A straw-donor plot in which the Turks gave cash to “small donors” who passed the funds to Adams defrauded NYC out of $10,000,000 thanks to their donation-matching program. At the same time, he cut library and homeless shelter budgets while dramatically increasing OT hours for cops. His and his cronies’ attempts to hide their corruption were laughably amateurish for folks involved in law enforcement and politics. One staffer deleted her messaging app mid-interview with the Feds.

lol, lmfao. The opsec was perfect.

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— Josh Rosenau (@joshrosenau.bsky.social) September 26, 2024 at 1:13 PM

When approached with an FBI search warrant, Adams handed over his business phones but not his personal device. When he did give it over the next day, the FBI discovered he’d recently changed the PIN and increased the complexity from 4 to 6 digits. Adams claimed he did this so his staffers couldn’t delete anything off the phone. He also claimed that after doing so, he immediately forgot the new code.

“I put an unbreakable password on it so no one else would destroy the evidence but oopsie that destroyed the evidence, sorry guys! I’m a cop and have no idea how this works.”

Fantastic. No notes. Perfect opsec. No evidence of a guilty conscience or intent.

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— Josh Rosenau (@joshrosenau.bsky.social) September 26, 2024 at 1:16 PM

Governor Kathy Hochul is doing everything she can to distance herself from Adams, and I’ve no doubt she’ll call for his resignation soon. It’s a major blow to both Eric Adams and various pundits — Nate Silver and Bret Stephens among them — who thought the future of the Democratic party lay in a tough-on-crime but none-too-bright former cop who by most accounts didn’t even live in the city he ran. And much of the evidence only exists because the conspirators don’t understand the first rule of a criminal conspiracy.

There are a number of fantastic details in the indictment, but this is by far my favorite.

"The Adams Staffer texted ADAMS, 'To be o[n the] safe side Please Delete all messages you send me.' ADAMS responded, 'Always do.'"

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— Joshua J. Friedman (@joshuajfriedman.com) September 26, 2024 at 11:09 AM

Did no one on staff watch The Wire?!

Anecdote time: my kid got in a spot of trouble last year because her classmates figured out how to turn on the chat feature of their Google school accounts. They started a group chat and, being teenagers, spent most of it roasting each other. There was no bullying, homophobic or racial slurs, or gossip about kids not in the group — just language of which most parents wouldn’t approve. It was a minor incident that came with no punishment, thanks to an understanding school administration. But it was a teachable moment, and I got to explain to my 13-year-old daughter that the internet holds onto everything. Everything. It can all come back to haunt you in an inversely proportional relationship to how much you want it to remain private. And while nude selfies are embarrassing, criminal enterprises are something else entirely. Even corner dealers are smart enough to use burner phones and delete chat history. After 20 years in law enforcement, Eric Adams & co. are still making rookie mistakes.

Andrew* has spent a lot of time detailing Adams’s various weird statements and poor policy choices, so none of this is a huge surprise. If any of New York City’s seemingly endless train of corrupt government officials were going to get nailed while still in office, it was Adams. Use his precipitous fall as a life lesson, kids. Don’t do crime, but if you must, keep it off your devices!

*When reached for comment, Andrew Sanford’s only response was to giggle uncontrollably for an uncomfortable length of time.