Mayor Eric Adams should stay and offer his defense to New Yorkers

Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, knows how to put on a show. Black SUVs zooming into Gracie Mansion. Big color charts and stern government lawyers standing with their hands clasped. “A multiyear scheme,” Williams intoned, “to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams.”

It’s all nice sound and fury, but is it as serious as Williams claims?

At first glance, what the government of Turkey got as “favors” from Mayor Adams was small potatoes. Cutting red tape to open the Turkish consulate on time. A position on the transition team. And what did Adams get in return? Campaign donations. And first-class upgrades on Turkish Airlines. #Extralegroomgate.