The New York City mayor, Eric Adams, faced mounting calls for his resignation on Thursday as federal agents launched a pre-dawn raid on the mayor’s Manhattan mansion and he was indicted on corruption charges.
Federal agents early on Thursday swept in to search Adams’s official residence, a stunning move that capped a lengthy corruption investigation into whether the mayor and others may have conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign money into his campaign coffers.
The indictments alleges Adams took illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals in exchange for favors that included helping Turkish officials get fire safety approvals for a new diplomatic building in the city.
The search at Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side began at about 6am, just hours before the US attorney for the southern district of New York and officials from the FBI and the city’s department of investigation were expected to announce federal charges against Adams and unseal the indictment against him.
The news radio station 1010 Wins reported that the charges against Adams were probably under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (Fara). Authorities have also sought information about Adams’s interactions with Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, according to the New York Times.
The outlet, citing a search warrant, reported in early November 2023 that federal authorities were investigating the possible acceptance by Adams’s 2021 campaign of illegal donations, including by the Turkish government.
Adams, a Democrat who would become the first of the city’s 110 mayors to be criminally charged while in office, said he expected to be charged with federal crimes and declared he was innocent. He added that if charges were filed they would be “entirely false, based on lies”. He vowed to remain in office while fighting them.
Members of the Democrats’ progressive wing, including the Bronx representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Adams to resign.
Ocasio-Cortez said that after the resignation of several city officials, including the police commissioner, “I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City.
“For the good of the city, he should resign,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The New York comptroller, Brad Lander, said Wednesday was “a sad day for New Yorkers”, after news of the indictment broke, and that “the most appropriate path forward” was for Adams to step aside.
The city’s financial management chief, who plans to run against Adams in 2025, added that Adams deserved the presumption of innocence but said: “It is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges will require a significant amount of the time and attention needed to govern this great city.”
The Manhattan borough president and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer said the mayor should step down so other leaders could “focus on the business of the city”.
“His fight is not our fight,” Stringer said.
But other members of the city council had mixed reactions. Oswald Feliz said he was “not there yet” in calling for Adams to step aside.
The Brooklyn progressive Chi Ossé said: “Corrupt cop Eric Adams needs to resign. This started as a corruption probe into his campaign and now half of the leadership is out of commission. I’m not going to lie – they look guilty.
“More importantly, no one is running our city right now. Our schools, healthcare, police have no leadership. This city of 9 million people need someone steering the ship.”
City council members including Tiffany Cabán, Alexa Avilés, Shekar Krishnan, Lincoln Restler, Chris Banks and Bob Holden have also called on Adams to resign.
If Adams is forced out of office, the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, would become mayor and would need to hold an election within 80 days.
The indictment came as the city is filled with foreign diplomats for the UN general assembly, including some who Adams may have had dealings with.
Shortly before the announcement, Adams appeared at a reception in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art attended by Joe Biden and Jill Biden, both of whom made remarks. Adams did not address the gathering.
New York city hall has been in a state of upheaval for the past month. The police commissioner, Edward Caban, resigned earlier this month after FBI agents seized his phone. Days later, Adams’s chief legal adviser resigned, saying she could “no longer effectively serve” in the position.
This week, the city’s public schools chancellor, David Banks, said he would retire at the end of the year. His phone had already been seized.
The only elected New York official with the power to force Adams aside is the New York governor, Kathy Hochul, and she has yet to comment on the developments.
