Ashley Elizabeth Miller

Robert Johnson, a fabled blues guitarist who inspired such stars as Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, paid a steep fee for his sublime skill: he sold his soul to the devil.

More than 100 years later, New York City’s own cop-turned-mayor, Eric Adams, has pursued a similar fate. Even with an A-list lawyer like Alex Spiro (whom he shares with Elon Musk), Adams, until recently, faced the maximum prospect of 45 years behind bars in a case that alleges he accepted illicit campaign contributions from Turkish officials.

What was Mr. Mayor’s next move? He skipped to the side of Trump—a fellow “victim of the system”—and to his delight: elicited a get-out-of-jail-free card. But in exchange, Adams ceded control of the Big Apple’s bank accounts.

On Wednesday, the city’s comptroller, Brad Lander, who is also making a run for mayor, announced that President Trump “and his crony Elon Musk” revoked $80.5 million from one of the city’s 26 bank accounts — with zero notice to his office.

“This highway robbery of our funds directly out of our bank account is a betrayal of everyone who calls New York City home,” Lander said at a press briefing.

Adams wrote on X that he, too, was surprised by the loss, adding: the funds had not yet been disbursed. (Is he justifying the revocation?) We need to see if his claim checks out. Though we will need to wait — for today Adams meets Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, who’s en route to town.

All the way up in Albany, meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul faces a different attack from D.C. — Pam Bondi is suing her for “prioritizing the needs of illegal immigrants above American citizens.” Hochul hit back, calling the lawsuit “worthless” and “publicity-driven.” She said her team expects it to be a total failure, “just like all the others.”

Some reporters surmise, simply, Bondi is going after Hochul because she is governor of a blue state, home to one of the nation’s most immigrant-friendly cities — neither are resume points to highlight in MAGA land. But there’s more to the story.

Trump’s pick as ambassador to the United Nations, Rep. Elise Stefanik, was reelected to her seat in New York before she was appointed to the post. Albany must decide on a date for a special election to replace her. But Hochul has stalled this effort, which means: there is no race to replace Stefanik as it stands. 

A second potential reason for Bondi to attack Hochul is: congestion pricing, a plan to tax cars coming in and out of certain parts of Manhattan. Due to the eco-friendly spin on the program’s overall mission — curbing carbon emission — Trump, of course, has been railing against the plan since it was proposed.

Hochul is in a poor place politically. Her time in office expires next year, and rumor has it: two prominent Republicans are mulling a run for the GOP ticket. 1) Bruce Blakeman, the Nassau County Executive who banned transgender girls from sports before it was cool; 2) and New York Rep. Mike Lawler.

And she should expect no help from the Big Apple. For Adams made a deal with the devil — and New York is buckling up to pay the bill.