Eric Adams’s Attorneys Accuse Federal Prosecutors of Leaking Details of Investigation to Journalists

Attorneys for indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D.) accused federal prosecutors of leaking details of the wide-ranging corruption investigation into Adams and his top lieutenants to the New York Times and other publications.

Adams’s attorneys made the allegations in court papers filed Tuesday, arguing for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether punitive sanctions are appropriate for what they believe to be government leaks of protected grand jury information.

“For nearly a year, the government has leaked grand jury material and other sensitive information to the media to aggrandize itself, further its investigation, and unfairly prejudice the defendant, Mayor Eric Adams,” Adams’s attorneys asserted.

“These leaks have disclosed the targets of the government’s investigation, the nature of evidence being sought and seized in furtherance of the investigation, the identities of witnesses subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, the government’s operative prosecution theory, the specific strategies and direction of the investigation as it progressed, and characterizations of the status of key witnesses.”

The court filings highlight numerous New York Times articles and select stories from other publications. Without presenting direct evidence of the leaks, Adams’s attorneys justify their suspicions based on the extremely specific information the outlets reported and the anonymous sources the publications cited.

Protecting sources’s identities is routine journalistic practice, especially when they are providing details about sensitive topics. National Review has reached out to the New York Times for comment.

Adams’s attorneys believe that the alleged leaks severely damaged Adams’s public reputation before charges were brought and have the potential to influence the prospective jury pool if they continue. They also suggest that some of the leaks are related to other ongoing criminal investigations swirling around Adams’s orbit. Prior to the latest court filings, Adams’s attorneys claim that prosecutors ignored multiple requests to investigate the sources of the leaks.

The Times first reported on Adams’s criminal indictment last week on bribery and other charges related to financial entanglements with the Turkish government. Adams’s attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss the bribery charge for its vagueness.

The specific details of Adams’s apparent dealings with Turkish government entities in exchange for political favors drew widespread condemnation and mockery from politicians and observers across the political spectrum.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges and could see up to 45 years in prison. Facing a potentially career-ending corruption scandal, Adams expressed defiance and suggested that his legal troubles are a result of his opposition to the Biden administration’s lax immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, Adams’s top deputies continue to be ensnared in corruption investigations that have hobbled his mayoralty and prompted multiple resignations. Adams’s administration has maintained close ties to the Chinese Communist Party despite the criminal investigations, as National Review has reported.

Once considered a rising Democratic Party star for confronting its soft-on-crime progressive faction, Adams’s standing has severely diminished, and his re-election prospects appear dim.