Midday News: Mayor Eric Adams Denies Cooperating with DOJ in Exchange for Dropping Charges, Columbia Medical School Freezes Hiring Over Federal Cuts, and Gov...

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Janae Pierre: Welcome to NYC Now, your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Friday, February 14th. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill.

Michael Hill: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is pushing back on a bombshell claim that his attorneys tried to get his federal corruption case dropped in exchange for his cooperation on the Trump administration's immigration policies. This comes one day after Danielle Sassoon, the top federal Manhattan prosecutor charged with advancing the case, resigned. Speaking on Fox News this morning, Adams says there's no way his lawyer would have asked for the exchange that Sassoon alleges in a letter to the US Attorney General.

Mayor Eric Adams: That's quid pro quo. That's a crime.

Tom Homan: That is quid pro quo

Mayor Eric Adams: It took her three weeks to report in front of her a criminal action. Come on, this is silly.

Michael Hill: The mayor appeared in the interview with Tom Homan, Trump's "border czar." They spoke about how the mayor will collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants accused of crimes. Columbia University's medical school is pausing hiring and other spending amid threats of federal funding cuts. WNYC's Caroline Lewis reports.

Caroline Lewis: The hiring freeze was announced in a letter to faculty Tuesday from Dr. James McKiernan, the interim dean for Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He said spending on travel, events, capital projects, and procurement will also be paused. The letter said the cost-cutting measures are a response to recent federal actions.

Last week, the NIH announced deep cuts to federal funding for administrative and facility costs at research institutions, but a federal judge has temporarily put those cuts on hold. Columbia University Irving Medical Center did not respond to a request for comment.

Michael Hill: Our forecast, 35 and sunny now. Sunny and a high of 35, feeling as cold as 20, breezy and gusty. Then tomorrow afternoon, snow, 1 to 3 inches, high near 35, but feeling like the mid-20s.

Janae Pierre: Stay close. There's more after the break.

Michael Hill: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is not ruling out removing Mayor Adams from office. The governor told MSNBC last night that she's consulting with other government officials about the mayor's future. It comes as a growing number of elected officials are calling on Adams to step down. WNYC's Albany reporter Jon Campbell here to talk about this.

Jon, we've been talking all week about the Trump administration ordering prosecutors to drop the pending bribery charges against Mayor Adams, but just a couple days ago, the governor said she wouldn't use her power to remove the mayor. Jon, what's changed?

Jon Campbell: Michael, a lot has changed this week. For one, the acting US Attorney in Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, resigned in protest. The New York Times published this really extraordinary letter she sent to the attorney general. She accused the mayor's attorney of basically urging the Trump administration to drop the case in exchange for helping carrying out the president's immigration crackdown. She wrote that letter on Wednesday.

The very next day, Mayor Adams had a meeting with Tom Homan, who is the president's border czar, and the mayor came out of that meeting announcing that he would let federal immigration agents basically set up shop on Rikers Island, the jail complex. That spurred this whole new round of calls for the mayor's resignation or even for the governor to remove him from office, which she has the legal authority to do.

Michael Hill: What's the governor saying now? Is it actually possible that she'll kick the mayor out of office?

Jon Campbell: Well, Rachel Maddow asked her exactly that on MSNBC last night, and it was really notable to me that the governor didn't rule it out.

Governor Kathy Hochul: I have to do what's smart, what's right, and I'm consulting with other leaders in government at this time.

Jon Campbell: Earlier in the week, the governor had pretty much shut the door on using her authority to kick the mayor out as you mentioned. She said it was undemocratic, even likened it to overturning an election, but that was before the acting US attorney resigned and made her allegations against the mayor public. The governor called those allegations concerning, serious. She noted that her husband, Bill Hochul, the First Gentleman, is a former US attorney himself, and she told Maddow that she needs some time to consider her options.

Michael Hill: Jon, what does the mayor have to say about all this?

Jon Campbell: Well, the mayor himself hasn't addressed the governor's comments publicly so far. She was on MSNBC pretty late last night, around 9:30 or so, but he spent the last few days defending himself and his administration. His attorney says there was no quid pro quo. He says ICE's work on Rikers Island will be focused on rooting out serious criminals who aren't in the country legally. He also says when all this dust settles, he's confident that his mayoral administration will be remembered as one of the best ever.

He's steadfastly refused calls to resign ever since he was first charged back in September. Remember, all of this is going on because he was accused of doing favors for Turkish nationals who gave him these lavish travel perks and donated to his political campaign. Those charges are still there, although the Department of Justice has pushed to dismiss them.

Michael Hill: Jon, we mentioned that more and more officials are calling on the mayor to step down. Talk us through some of them. Who are they?

Jon Campbell: Yes, there were a bunch of them. Some of them new, others kind of renewing their prior calls for resignation. Some names that jumped out at me, Nydia Velázquez, the longtime congressional representative from Brooklyn. There was also Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado who said New Yorkers can't have a mayor who's beholden to President Trump.

That one's an interesting one because Delgado is Governor Hochul's number two, but they've been at odds recently. He's even been flirting with running for governor himself, so that shouldn't be viewed as speaking for the governor. Then there was Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx. She says the mayor should have stepped down a long time ago, but since he hasn't, she called on the governor to remove him.

Michael, it's worth remembering both Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul have what's shaping up to be a tough re-election fight ahead. If the governor removes the mayor, she could alienate his supporters, and that's a big risk for a governor who's not doing very well in the polls herself.

Michael Hill: Indeed. Jon, quickly, what happens next? Did the governor give any indication about when she may come to a decision?

Jon Campbell: Yes. The governor told Rachel Maddow that she needs some time, this is all pretty fresh, but she didn't put any specific time frame on it, so your guess is as good as mine. This weekend could be pretty crucial. There's a gathering in Albany of influential Black leaders and politicians. That could be pretty crucial here.

Michael Hill: WNYC's Jon Campbell. Jon, thank you for this.

Jon Campbell: Thank you.

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Janae Pierre: Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep dives, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. See you this evening.

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