New York City Mayor Eric Adams, during his meeting with President Joe Biden next week, must discuss the dangers of allowing cashless bail policies, Rep. Lee Zeldin, who is running for governor of New York, said on Newsmax Thursday.
"President Biden, when he was campaigning, part of his agenda was to enact cashless bail nationally," the New York Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report."
"Mayor Adams should go right into that conversation with truth and facts, on offense, because it's not just about changing minds in Albany. We also have to change minds in D.C."
Biden is scheduled to meet with Adams next week in New York City to "discuss the administration's comprehensive strategy to combat gun crime," according to the White House.
The meeting comes after the on-duty shooting deaths of NYPD officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27. Adams, a former police officer, is calling on lawmakers to pass gun-reform legislation.
During a speech on gun violence Monday, Adams said, "We must allow judges to take dangerousness into account" when setting bail or deciding to jail someone pending trial.
Zeldin, though, said that Adams' call was met with outcry from Democrats in Albany, claiming that his use of the word "dangerousness" was "code for Black."
"This was coming from a woke white liberal assemblyman, who, by the way, is Rosie O'Donnell's brother, serving in the New York State Assembly, going after the Black New York City mayor, as if Mayor Adams is being racist by proposing this," Zeldin said. "He cares about public safety."
New York state has the largest population loss in the country, he continued, and to combat that, "You have to reverse the attack on public safety."
Meanwhile, Zeldin said it's "absolutely critical" that bail policies change because judges must have the discretion to weigh the dangers of allowing a suspect to go free on bail, as well as determining if past criminal activity, flight risk, and the seriousness of the offense should come into play.
"Unfortunately what you're seeing by Gov. Kathy Hochul is this political calculation, because she's worried about a June 22 Democratic Party primary," said Zeldin.
The congressman further insisted that law enforcement must be supported more, not less.
"Cashless bail needs to be repealed," he said. "We should be opposing this defund the police movement, which, in New York City, took a billion dollars out of the NYPD budget.
"Gov. Hochul signed a bill called 'less is more,' releasing criminals early from prison, and she, while doing it, released 191 people from Rikers Island, many of them run right back out to commit additional offenses."
Zeldin added that a "law enforcement bill of rights" should be passed on the state level to recognize the "inherent right" of law enforcement officers to practice self-defense.
"The solutions are common sense, right in front of all of us, and unfortunately, the silence is pathetic," Zeldin said. "The cowardice is something that's resulting in now another funeral."
The congressman also called on the Democrats running all three branches in Albany to end mask and other mandates, but said that as the court of appeals is "filled up" with appointees from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, they will "all probably wind up with having Hochul's back."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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