New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on five federal charges by a grand jury on Wednesday night, a move that comes after a series of FBI raids targeting key members of his administration led to multiple resignations last week.
The indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges Adams has engaged in a decade-long string of corrupt practices, including seeking "straw donations" to abuse a public campaign donation matching program, accepting improper gifts and luxury travel from Turkish businesses and officials, and acting on behalf of a Turkish official.
Adams proclaimed his innocence in a Wednesday night video statement, insisting he will fight the charges even as calls grow for his resignation. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who called for Adams to step down before news of the indictment broke, was joined in those calls Wednesday by numerous city council members, statewide representatives and NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, a progressive running to replace Adams.
“The hardworking people of New York City deserve a city government and leadership they can trust,” Lander wrote on X. “Right now, they don’t have it.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who could remove Adams from office once he is criminally charged, has yet to weigh in on whether the mayor should step down.
The wide-reaching investigation into Adams led to raids on a grip of key allies of the mayor, prompting the resignations of NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban.
Federal investigators also raided the mayor’s home, Gracie Mansion, early Thursday morning. Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, who previously represented Alec Baldwin and Elon Musk, accused federal authorities of trying “to create a spectacle.”
“They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in,” Spiro said in a statement.
