The following is part of a posting by Steve Benen at MSNBC.com:
New York City Mayor Eric Adams surrendered to federal authoritiesone day after a 57-page federal indictment was unsealed, accusing the Democrat of bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. Adams has denied any wrongdoing and is expected to plead not guilty. . . .
As Adams’ Democratic support quickly evaporated, the public saw a case study in partisan asymmetry unfold in real time.
Indeed, no prominent voices in Democratic politics — except for Adams himself — responded to the New York City mayor’s indictment with conspiracy theories. They didn’t talk about “election interference.” Democrats didn’t say that federal prosecutors should be “defunded.” The party didn’t entertain the idea that evidence might’ve been “planted.”
No one in the party accused the Justice Department of having been “weaponized.” Democrats also didn’t issue weird fundraising letters or whine about George Soros.
Instead, Democrats responded to Adams’ indictment the way you'd expect members of a normal, mature, and responsible political party to respond: Many called for the mayor to resign, while others acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations.
In fact, in an odd twist, the Adams' indictment did generate weird conspiracy theories, just not from his own party.
Donald Trump, for example, argued — in public and in apparent seriousness — that federal prosecutors charged the mayor, not because of evidence of corruption, but because of Adams’ position on immigration policy. Some Fox News hosts and assorted far-right personalities — including conspiratorial billionaire Elon Musk — pushed a similar line. . . .
Putting aside the fact that there’s literally no evidence to substantiate such a weird idea, the principal problem with these bonkers assertions is that the indictment is now publicly available, and it’s filled with highly credible allegations of serious crimes. . . .
These details probably won’t matter to Trump and his allies, but they should matter to those who take reality seriously.
