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Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted Thursday by federal prosecutors on five counts, including bribery, wire fraud, solicitation of contribution by a foreign national, and conspiracy, making him the first mayor of the city to be charged in office.
Prosecutors say Adams, who denies the charges, has been taking bribes and foreign campaign contributions since at least 2014, when he was elected Brooklyn Borough president. Since then, the indictment alleges, Adams has continued to seek out accept, “improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.”
All told, he took more than $100,000 in luxury “travel benefits” and solicited campaign contributions from straw donors, allowing him to rake in at least $10 million in public funds for his campaiang, prosecutors alleged.
The Democrat, a retired police captain who grew up in Brooklyn and Queens, is now fighting for his political career with several prominent politicians already calling for him to resign, including congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Adams was elected as New York City’s 110th mayor in 2021 and took office in 2022. He was due to run again in next year’s mayoral race for a second term.
So what do we know about the indictment of Adams?
What are the allegations?
Federal prosecutors hit Adams with five counts: wire fraud, bribery, conspiracy, and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
“As Adam’s prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City’s mayor,” the indictment states.
In exchange for the bribes and campaign contributions, Adams is accused of doing favors for foreign nationals, including a senior Turkish official.
In one particularly egregious episode, prosecutors say Adams turned the screws on New York City Fire Department officials to approve an occupancy permit for a newly constructed Turkish consular building in Manhattan that the FDNY did not believe was safe.
In all, the indictment says Adams received free international flights to France, Sri Lanka, Hungary, China, India, and Turkey, deeply discounted stays at opulent hotels, pricey meals, and other perks worth more than $100,000. He then “repeatedly took steps to shield his solicitation and acceptance of these benefits from public scrutiny,” omitting the gifts from his required annual financial disclosures, paying “nominal” amounts to make it seem as if he had in fact paid for the freebies, and created “fake paper trails” to obfuscate the truth, according to the indictment.
Straw donors allegedly allowed Adams to secretly take in cash from foreign entities, wealthy individuals who had already maxed out their allowable yearly contributions, and corporations prohibited by New York City law from donating money to political candidates.
Federal agents seized mayor’s electronic devices
In November 2023, federal agents seized Adams’ electronic devices as part of an ongoing probe into allegations of corruption related to campaign finance wrongdoings.
The New York City mayor has been vocal about his longstanding relationship with Turkey and the Turkish-American community of New York. He previously boasted that he’s made at least six trips to Turkey.
Reports circulated that Adams received campaign donations from employees of a Brooklyn-based construction company owned by a Turkish-American businessman.
Adams denies any wrongdoing
At a chaotic press conference on Thursday — that was interrupted multiple times by protesters — Adams denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said he would not be stepping down as mayor.
On Wednesday evening, Adams had released a video statement that also proclaimed his innocence.
“My fellow New Yorkers, it is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes,” said Adams in the video. “If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies. But they would not be surprising. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target, and a target I became.”
He added: “I can also understand how everyday New Yorkers would be concerned that I cannot do my job while I face accusations, but I have been facing these lies for months since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started.”
Calls for mayor to resign
Ocasio-Cortez called for Adams to resign on Wednesday.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” she wrote on X. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.
“For the good of the city, he should resign.”
Others have echoed her calls, including State Senator John Liu, ABC7NY reports. “The people of New York City, however, need a mayor who is able to devote full time and full energy to putting the city on the right track, including recruitment and retention of top leadership for the City,” he said.
“Mayor Adams is simply unable to do that for the foreseeable future and therefore, for the good of all New Yorkers, must resign immediately,” Liu added.
NYC council member Shekar Krishnan said: “New Yorkers deserve better.”
“Mayor Adams has already proven himself unfit and unable to lead from City Hall,” Krishnan said. “He will absolutely be unable to lead from inside a courtroom. He must resign.”
Who takes over if the mayor steps down
Adams said he has no intention of resigning. “I’m stepping up, not stepping down,” he said. “I have a city to run that I will continue to run.”
But in the event of his resignation, the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, would step in as acting mayor.
A special election would be scheduled by Williams — who is a fierce critic of Adams — which would take place by the end of the year.
“As the facts emerge, the Public Advocate will have more to say to the people of New York City and right now, he is focused on how best to ensure that New Yorkers can regain trust, confidence and stability in city government,” a spokesperson for Williams said in a statement.
Adams is not required to resign but there is only one person has the power to remove him from office before the end of his term: New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul. A source told the New York Post there is “no chance” she would, however.
String of mayor’s associates have already resigned
Over the past several weeks several of the mayor’s political associates have resigned or announced their intention to leave their positions.
These include the mayor’s police commissioner, the schools chancellor, the health commissioner and his chief counsel.
