Mayor Adams hired campaign consultant accused of strangling girlfriend in SoHo hotel

As Mayor Eric Adams prepared to skip the Democratic primary and run for re-election as an independent this spring, he turned to a prominent campaign consultant who had been accused of assaulting his girlfriend in an upscale Manhattan hotel.

The consultant, Trent Pool, is the latest Adams associate facing criminal charges or a high-profile investigation. When Gothamist reached out to Adams’ campaign about the charges against Pool, a spokesperson said they were unaware of the charges and have since “terminated” work with him.

City campaign finance disclosures show Adams paid Pool’s Wyoming-based firm Public Appeal $175,000 since April to help gather petitions that would allow him to be on the ballot this November under an independent party line.

When Adams first began paying Pool’s firm, the consultant was already fighting charges tied to the alleged April. 27, 2024 incident.

Pool was charged with strangling and assaulting his girlfriend at the SoHo Grand Hotel. Prosecutors allege he “hit her in the face with a closed fist twice, causing her to cry… covered her nose and mouth, until she was going in and out of consciousness” and strangled her.

Pool has pleaded not guilty. "Mr. Pool vehemently denies these accusations and we are confident he will be exonerated of any wrongdoing," his lawyer Thomas Kenniff wrote in an email.

Late on Wednesday, an Adams campaign spokesperson told Gothamist the campaign had terminated all work with the firm.

“Mayor Adams has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to allegations of any assault charges. The campaign immediately terminated all work with Trent Pool upon learning of any charges against him,” campaign spokesperson Jeff Cohen said.

The connection between Adams and Pool has not been previously reported.

Pool’s firm is frequently used by candidates running on independent ballot lines or for a third party. His firm was paid $1.2 million last year to help gather signatures for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid for president. Pool has also served on the board of the Independent National Convention, which aims to promote third-party candidates.

Adams, whose indictment on federal corruption charges last year threatened to derail his re-election hopes, is set to formally relaunch his independent campaign during a speech on Thursday.

In early April, a judge dismissed the charges against Adams at the request of the Trump administration, writing “everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions.”

The day after the ruling, the mayor announced he would skip the Democratic primary to run as an independent. Two weeks later, records show his campaign started paying Pool’s firm to help gather signatures. Now, the mayor is trying to run in November’s general election on one of two separate ballot lines — “EndAntisemitism” and “Safe&Affordable” — though city election regulators say he has to pick just one.

“The firm was hired as an independent contractor based solely on its prior work for other national campaigns, including RFK Jr,” said Cohen, the campaign spokesperson. “The mayor has never had contact with Mr. Pool and was entirely unaware of the allegations prior to the reporting [by Gothamist].”

Records show Public Appeal is the only out-of-state consulting firm hired by a mayoral campaign this year to collect petitions. Adams also used four other firms for petitioning.

While Adams kept his job and avoided corruption charges, many of his closest allies have not been so lucky. His longtime top adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin and former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich have pleaded not guilty to bribery charges in separate cases. Mohamed Bahi, another former Adams aide, pleaded guilty earlier this year to orchestrating an illegal straw donor scheme as part of the mayor’s 2021 election campaign. Turkish-born construction company executive Erden Arkan pleaded guilty last year to a straw donor scheme that funneled foreign donations to Adams.

Over the last year, nearly every one of Adams’ deputies resigned — some after they were investigated by the FBI, others in protest after the mayor told them to avoid criticizing Trump.

Adams said he would not vote for any of the candidates in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for mayor. In a social media post Tuesday night, his campaign wrote “the fight for New York’s future begins tonight.”

This story has been updated with a quote from Pool's lawyer.