'There’s a permanent government': NYC mayor Eric Adams believes in the 'deep state' theory

New York City mayor Eric Adams said he believes the “deep state” exists, claiming there is a “permanent government” in the United States that operates beyond the control of elected officials.
Speaking on the Flagrant podcast hosted by Andrew Schulz on Wednesday, Adams said, “I don’t want to sound [like a] conspiracy theor[ist], but there’s a permanent government.
“There are people that see presidents and mayors come and go. Their attitude is, ‘We’ll wait you out.’”
The comments come just days after Adams announced he would be leaving the Democratic Party and running as an independent in his bid for re-election.
During the episode, Adams defended the concept of the “deep state” and praised FBI official-turned-author Kash Patel’s 2023 book Government Gangsters: The Deep State, the Truth, and the Battle for Our Democracy.
When Schulz remarked that the term “deep state” is used around too often, Adams pushed back, “It’s not used too much. It’s real, brother.”
“Kash was in the [department of defense]. He was in the FBI. He prosecuted terrorists," he said, quoted by the Fox News.
He further applauded Patel saying that he possessed wealth of knowledge, “and the way he breaks it down, it's just unbelievable.”
“What this ‘deep state’ is about and why it's so important for Americans that we cannot have a weaponizing of our prosecutorial powers,” he questioned.
Adams also took aim at the US attorney’s office for the southern district of New York (SDNY), which had previously prosecuted him on bribery charges. The case, which accused the mayor of accepting illicit campaign donations and luxury travel from Turkish nationals and other sources, was recently dropped by the justice department.
The charges, initially brought under the Biden administration, were dismissed “with prejudice” on Tuesday, meaning they cannot be refiled.
“Now imagine the southern district of New York—that’s one of the most powerful US attorney’s offices,” Adams told Schulz.
“In their mind, they said, ‘We’re sovereign.’ You know what that means.”
He further added that they don’t have to answer to anyone including the president, US attorney in Washington or the attorney general in Washington, “They believe they’re a sovereign entity.”
“You’re not elected,” Adams added. “You know what I’m saying? Imagine an entity believing they don’t have to answer to anyone," criticising the unelected nature of prosecutors.