Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have charged NYC Mayor Eric Adams with five counts related to an alleged campaign corruption scheme.
An unsealed indictment charges Adams with five counts: bribery; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national (two counts); wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
Adams held an outdoor press conference on Thursday morning. The scene was chaotic, and the mayor was heckled mercilessly as rain fell in New York. “This is not a Black thing, this is a you thing,” a protester yelled through a megaphone as Adams chuckled uncomfortably. “Your policies are anti-Black! You are a disgrace to all Black people in this city! The things that you have done are unconscionable!”
According to the indictment, Adams “suught and accepted illegal campaign contributions in the form of 'nominee' or 'straw' contributions,” from foreign entities based in Turkey.
“By smuggling their contributions to Adams through US-based straw donors, Adams's overseas contributors defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on US elections,” the indictment says.
Adams allegedly accepted more than $25,000 in illegal funds over the course of a year and — through New York City's Matching Funds Program for candidates — may have illegally received “more than $10,000,000 in public funds” stemming from the illegal straw donations.
One Turkish national involved in the scheme, who is not named in the indictment, also showered Adams and his associates with “improper benefits” including “free or discounted travel on Turkey's national airline” on trips to “France, China, Sri Lanka, India , Hungary, and Turkey itself.”
“The Turkish Official and other Turkish nationals further arranged for ADAMS and his companions to receive, among other things, free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants, and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey,” the indictment alleges, adding that the mayor took steps to mask the free or heavily discounted perks in his disclosures.
Once Adams was elected mayor, prosecutors allege that his foreign contacts sought to cash on their contributions. The indictment alleges that in September 2021, the Turkish official told Adams “that it was his tum to repay the Turkish Official, by pressuring the New York City Fire Department to facilitate the opening of a new Turkish consular building, a 36-story skyscraper without a fire inspection, in time for a high-profile visit by Turkey's president.”
“Because of Adams's pressure on the FDNY, the FDNY official responsible for the FDNY's assessment of the skyscraper's fire safety was told that he would lose his job if he failed to acquiesce, and, after Adams intervened, the skyscraper opened as requested by the Turkish Official,” prosecutors allege.
News of the accused broke Wednesday night. Adams declared his innocence. “I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” he told CBS New York. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
Early Thursday morning, the FBI raided the mayor's official residence at Gracie Mansion. Last year, authorities searched the home of the mayor's chief fundraiser and seized Adams' electronic devices in connection to the investigation.
Amid news of the indictment, calls for the mayor to resign from his office have reached a fever pitch. On Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) called for Adam's to step down.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” she wrote. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign.”
