Eric Adams Indictment Sparks Clarence Thomas Comparisons

The indictment accusing New York Mayor Eric Adams of allowing Turkish officials and businesspeople to buy his influence with lavish trips and illegal campaign contributions has sparked comparisons to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Adams, a Democrat, is facing conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges. Prosecutors say Adams accepted over $100,000 in undisclosed gifts, including free and heavily discounted flight upgrades, stays in opulent hotel suites and meals at high-end restaurants.
The indictment alleges that Adams sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions from straw donors. Prosecutors said Adams had a duty to disclose the gifts he received in annual financial disclosure forms, but did not do so.
The indictment also alleges that Adams took actions that appeared to benefit Turkey, including pressuring the New York City Fire Department to facilitate the opening a new consular building without a fire inspection. Adams denied wrongdoing during a press conference on Thursday and said he does not plan to resign.
On social media, some questioned why the conservative Supreme Court justice has not faced similar consequences over his failure to disclose luxury travel and gifts.
ProPublica revealed last year that Thomas had accepted luxury trips from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and other billionaires for years without reporting them on financial disclosure forms. The outlet also reported that Crow paid for two years of private school tuition for Thomas’ family member and bought three properties belonging to Thomas and his family. Thomas has said he was not required to disclose the luxury trips because they amount to personal hospitality from a close friend without business before the court.
“Eric Adams got free “gifts” of luxury commercial flights and fancy hotel stays, totaling in the six figures — and he just got indicted by the Feds,” lawyer Tristan Snell wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“Clarence Thomas got free “gifts” of PRIVATE JET and YACHT trips, totaling over $4,000,000 — and NOTHING is happening to him.”
Melanie D’Arrigo, the executive director of the Campaign for New York Health and former congressional candidate, wrote: “Eric Adams received bribes from people who wanted favors from him in his official capacity, and he took those bribes and executed those favors — and he was indicted. Now switch out ‘Eric Adams’ for ‘Clarence Thomas’ and tell me what’s different besides the indictment.”
Political strategist Jeff Timmer, a senior adviser at the Lincoln Project, wrote: “The only apparent difference between Eric Adams and Clarence Thomas is who bribed them.”
However, legal experts have told Newsweek that the cases are quite different.
Michael McAuliffe, a former federal prosecutor and former elected state attorney, told Newsweek: “While both Mayor Eric Adams and Justice Clarence Thomas have been criticized for the benefits they received from relationships with ‘supporters’ and friends, the scenarios are different.
“Most importantly, Adams has been indicted for soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals—that simply doesn’t apply to Thomas as a life-tenured justice. Moreover, the charges against Adams allege a quid pro quo which requires proof of specific intent to trade an official act for an illicit benefit. Justice Thomas, thus far, hasn’t been accused of such explicit misconduct.”
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told Newsweek that Thomas “accepted gifts and failed to disclose them, but that’s where the similarities end.”
Adams, Rahmani continued, allegedly “engaged in a quid pro quo scheme where he provided value for the flights and hotels he paid little to nothing for. Specifically, Adams pressured city inspectors to open the Turkish consulate even though it hadn’t passed the fire inspection. Thomas’ transgression was an ethics violation, Adams’ was a bribe. Adams tried to cover up the gifts as well.”
Rahmani added: “Adams has also been charged with a series of campaign finance violations: using straw donors and accepting money from foreign nationals. Though I don’t condone Thomas’ conduct, especially from the longest-running Supreme Court justice, Adams’ is much worse.”
Update 9/27/24, 11:58 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comments from Neama Rahmani.