NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indicted on Criminal Corruption Charges – DW – 09-26-2024

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged by federal prosecutors with fraud, bribery and accepting illegal donations from foreigners.

According to the indictment, Adams received illegal campaign contributions from foreign businessmen and a Turkish official.

Adams also allegedly accepted benefits such as luxury travel in exchange for official favors and manipulated a municipal financing program to “increase his profits.”

Prosecutors in New York said they would provide more details at a news conference later Thursday.

According to media outlets, Adams, a Democrat, could appear in court the same day.

In a speech recorded at his official residence, Adams said he would remain in office, calling any charges he might face “completely false (and) based on lies.”

Adams is the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office.

FBI Seizes Adams’ Phone

FBI agents raided the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, early Thursday morning and seized his phone, according to his attorney Alex Spiro.

Spiro criticized the federal agents’ actions, accusing them of “trying to create a spectacle.”

“They send a dozen officers to pick up a phone, when we would have happily turned it in,” he said.

What does the indictment reveal?

The indictment is the result of a wide-ranging investigation into the mayor and his associates to determine whether he colluded with Turkish government officials to receive illegal contributions during his 2021 campaign.

Four of the five charges relate to the alleged receipt of funds for that campaign, which is prohibited by law, while the other charge relates to bribery.

The court document also states that Adams “continued his corrupt relationships after becoming mayor.”

What did Eric Adams say?

The mayor promised to fight the allegations.

“I always knew that if I took a stand in front of all of you, I would be a target and a target I became,” Adams said. “I will fight these injustices with all my might and all my spirit.”

“If I am charged, I know I am innocent. I will demand an immediate trial so New Yorkers can hear the truth,” he added.

The Adams administration was already reeling from a series of high-level firings amid at least four ongoing federal investigations.

Before news of the indictment broke, U.S. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also a Democrat, called on Adams to resign.

“I don’t see how Mayor Adams can continue to govern New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez, who represents a New York district in Congress, said on social media.

The charges against Adams come after the FBI raided the Brooklyn home of his top fundraiser last November and a series of resignations by top city officials in recent weeks.

ff, mfi/rm, zc (AP, Reuters)