New York City Mayor Eric Adams, reeling from a criminal indictment and calls to resign, is hinting that he became a political “target” for the feds because he criticized President Biden’s border and immigration policies.

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, spent weeks declining to criticize federal prosecutors as a whiff of scandal swirled around his administration. That changed — fast — once he was indicted.

“Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics,” he said in a video pushing back on his criminal charges. “I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target — and a target I became.”

Mr. Adams faces bribery and wire fraud charges in the 57-page indictment released on Thursday.

Prosecutors say he used straw donors to solicit foreign donations and offered favors in return, particularly to Turkish businessmen and officials. The indictment alleges that Mr. Adams also received more than $100,000 in perks such as travel upgrades and lavish hotel stays in Istanbul and other global destinations.

The indictment traces the alleged activity back to 2014, but the mayor is raising questions about the timing of the charges.

Over the past year, Mr. Adams has aired his frustration with the Biden administration over border security as Southern GOP governors sent large numbers of migrants to the Big Apple.

Asked why he linked the migrant situation and his predicament, Mr. Adams said reporters should do some digging.

“Who gave the directive to carry out what we have witnessed over the last 10 months?” he said during a rain-soaked press conference after the indictment was unsealed. “I follow the law and I follow the campaign rules.”

Mr. Adams is hardly the first politician to claim his legal troubles are driven by politics. Most notably, former President Donald Trump claims the bevy of charges he faces in federal and state courtrooms were directed by the Biden administration in an attempt to thwart his presidential run.

Mr. Trump seemed to agree with Mr. Adams, saying the mayor faces payback for criticizing federal migrant policy.

“I said, you know what, he’ll be indicted within a year, and I was exactly right,” Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said at a recent press conference. “I wish him luck.”

Some people aren’t buying it.

“While he is innocent until proven guilty, I am certainly not in agreement that he was targeted by the Biden-Harris administration,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist and key player in Democratic circles, told USA Today. “That’s garbage.”

Plus, a key dynamic undercuts Mr. Adams’ claim — his charges might not be good for Mr. Biden’s party on Election Day.

Republicans are clinging to an eight-seat majority in the House, so any downward pressure on Democrats from the Adams situation could prove pivotal.

The Cook Political Report rates six races in the greater New York City media market as competitive, with four held by Republicans and two by Democrats. The outcome of any of them could alter the U.S. political landscape.

Some Democrats are bailing on Mr. Adams so they aren’t pulled down with him.

“Upstate New York is facing serious issues, and the last thing we need is more corrupt downstate politicians compounding the problems, exporting their chaos, and abusing the public’s trust,” Josh Riley, a Democrat trying to unseat Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro in the Hudson Valley, said in a statement to multiple media outlets. “Eric Adams should immediately resign.”