New York City mayor Eric Adams engaged in a nearly decade-long conspiracy that included accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources to benefit his political career, according to the federal indictment unsealed Thursday morning.
Adams is accused of accepting free airline flights and staying in luxurious hotels on behalf of Turkish business and government officials who sought to influence him.
He sought foreign money in part to benefit his 2021 mayoral campaign, according to the indictment. But some of the criminal conduct Adams is accused of dates as far back as 2015 when he was the Brooklyn borough president.
Adams had been charged with five counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; wire fraud; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national in two instances; and bribery.
He is the first sitting New York mayor to face criminal charges.
The 57-page indictment accuses Adams of funneling illegal foreign money through U.S.-based straw donors, including at least two New York construction companies, to reap over $10 million in public-matching funds based on false certifications that his campaign complied with finance regulations. The funds provide “eligible candidates with public funds to match small-dollar contributions from New York City residents,” the charging document says.
Adams also received free or discounted travel benefits on Turkey’s national airline from a Turkish official, who facilitated the funneling of the straw donations to Adams. These overseas trips included flights from New York to Turkey, India, France, Sri Lanka, China and Hungary from 2015 to 2019. These trips are valued at more than $100,000.
Other luxurious benefits included “free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey,” the indictment states.
In January 2022, when Adams was inaugurated as mayor, Adams agreed to accept foreign contributions intended for his 2025 campaign while meeting with a Turkish entrepreneur whom the indictment dubs the “Promoter.”
The Turkish government sought influence over Adams, in part, to get his help to open a new consulate building in the city before the country’s president visited in 2021, prosecutors say. The 36-story skyscraper would have failed a fire inspection at the time.
Prosecutors say Turkish officials cashed in on their influence with Adams and he pressured the fire officials to open the building, which they did because they “were convinced that they would lose their jobs if they didn’t back down.”
The New York Times was the first to report on the indictment on Wednesday evening.
The charges were unsealed Thursday, hours after the FBI raided the Democratic mayor’s Gracie Mansion and seized his phone as part of the federal investigation.
Adams’s lawyer Alex Spiro said federal investigators conducted the raid “to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again),” according to NBC.
“He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court,” Spiro added. “They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”
Adams maintained his innocence in a video statement on Wednesday, and reiterated that on Thursday.
“We are not surprised. We expected this,” he said during a news conference outside his residence, where his supporters and hecklers gathered. “The actions that have unfolded over the last ten months — the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing. This did not surprise us that we reached this day, and I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments.”
Adams spoke before federal prosecutors laid out the case during their own press conference. The mayor urged to public “to wait and hear our side to this narrative.”
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, called Adams’s misconduct a “grave breach of the public’s trust.”
“Public office is a privilege,” he said. “We allege that mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law, laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign leader, and certainly not a foreign power.”
“These are bright red lines,” Williams added, “and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again, for years.”
As the far-reaching corruption probe has progressed in recent weeks, the mayor’s police commissioner, schools chancellor, and chief legal counsel have resigned.
Nearly a year ago, the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, Adams’s chief fundraiser — the first of many raids that federal authorities would end up conducting against the mayor’s staff. In July, authorities subpoenaed the Adams administration for a host of documents, including records of the mayor’s travel, and fundraising operations.
Then, in September, authorities seized the phones of the police commissioner, Edward A. Caban; the first deputy mayor, Sheena Wright; the schools chancellor, David C. Banks; and the deputy mayor for public safety, Philip Banks III; and one of Adams’s senior advisers, Timothy Pearson. Prosecutors are now investigating Adams’s financial ties to multiple other countries, including Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan, information that was made public on Monday.
Initial reports of the indictment came hours after progressive “Squad” member, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), called on Adams to resign.
“The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function,” said Ocasio-Cortez, who did not endorse Adams in his 2021 primary. “Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.”
“For the good of the city,” she added, “he should resign.”
Others joined Ocasio-Cortez after the indictment dropped. City comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander said, “The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands.” Councilman Shekar Krishnan said on Wednesday evening that “City Hall is in free fall.” New York state senator John Liu said in response to the news that “Mayor Adams is simply unable to” do his job and “for the good of all New Yorkers, must resign immediately.”
New York Democratic council members Lincoln Restler and Shahana Hanif, as well as New York State assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, all encouraged Adams to resign.
Former mayor Bill de Blasio said that he was shocked in a CNN interview on Wednesday night, and emphasized that Adams was “innocent until proven guilty.”
Adams has insisted in recent days that he will not resign, reiterating his position on Thursday. Should he change his mind, New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams would become acting mayor and set a date for a special election.
“The news of this indictment is itself incredibly serious,” a spokesman for Williams said. “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.”
Governor Kathy Hochul, who has not yet weighed in on the corruption allegations surrounding Adams and his administration herself, has the power to remove him from office.