There is an old saying: Never mention a rope in the house of a man who has been hanged. You might think that Trump, infamous for using public office for private enrichment, would avoid too close an affinity with other scoundrels prosecuted for outright graft.

But think again.

New York Mayor Eric Adams is facing federal corruption and bribery charges for shamelessly shaking down the Turkish government for various bribes over the years while he was Brooklyn borough president. Adams also faked donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign so that he could illegally qualify for public matching funds. And he must have set a record for appointing one corrupt crony after another, leading to serial resignations.

Adams, in short, is a bush-league version of Donald Trump.

But in December, Trump said that the mayor had been treated "pretty unfairly" by prosecutors and suggested he was considering issuing a pardon. And this week, the Trump Justice Department has let it be known that it is seriously considering dropping all criminal charges. Adams just happens to be represented by Alex Spiro, who is also the personal lawyer for Elon Musk.

What’s in it for Trump? Does he really want to signal that Adams is his kind of guy?

For starters, Adams could be an ally in Trump’s campaign of mass deportations, in contrast with mayors of sanctuary cities. Adams has already let it be known that he supports Trump’s policies.

Also, letting Adams off would mess with the upcoming New York mayoralty election in a manner that could conceivably increase Trump’s support in the city, though that would require a complex bank shot. If it broke right, the maneuver would leave Trump and Adams as thick as thieves, so to speak.

The disgraced Adams, now at 12 percent in the polls, will almost surely lose the Democratic primary. He has said that he might run as a Republican. Adams had substantial support in the Black community and from some Black leaders such as Al Sharpton. But that has eroded, especially since Adams abruptly bailed on several Martin Luther King Day commitments, in order to make a hasty midnight trip to Mar-a-Lago to be with Trump on inauguration eve.

The other wild card in the mayoral race is another disgraced old pol, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been hinting that he might run. There are several progressives in the race, the most effective of whom is New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is white. There are also several talented candidates of color, including state Sens. Jessica Ramos of Queens and Zellnor Myrie of Brooklyn.

If progressive politics turn tribal, there might be a repeat of the fragmentation of 2021, which allowed Adams to very narrowly win. If the progressive candidates can get their act together under New York’s ranked-choice voting system, a progressive could probably beat Cuomo in the runoff.

That would leave Adams running as a Republican and Cuomo out of the race. It’s hard to imagine Adams beating Lander or another progressive, but if Trump somehow rehabilitates Adams and promises New York the moon in federal aid if Adams is re-elected, it’s conceivable. That, in turn, could increase MAGA support in New York.

Should Cuomo somehow win the Democratic primary, Cuomo vs. Adams is even more of a crapshoot. You could imagine the opportunistic Cuomo sucking up to Trump, and Trump playing off both candidates against each other.

WITH ADAMS, YOU CAN AT LEAST see Trump’s calculations. A pardon for Bob Menendez would be even more far-fetched. The former New Jersey senator was sentenced this week to 11 years in prison for the most grotesque and flagrant use of public office to do favors for the Egyptian government, in exchange for payoffs that included stashes of gold bars and a Mercedes.

After his conviction, which he is appealing, Menendez gave a little speech that sounded uncannily like similar speeches given by Trump, calling the Southern District of New York, where he and Trump both faced criminal charges, "the Wild West of political prosecutions." Menendez added, "President Trump is right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system."

It’s hard to imagine what Trump gains from pardoning Menendez, though he could view a Menendez pardon as another poke in the eye of a system of equal justice under law and a signal of open season on graft. On the other hand, letting Menendez go to prison would demonstrate that Democrats can be just as corrupt as Republicans.