A federal court indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams on charges of campaign fraud, bribery and other crimes was filed Thursday morning, just hours after the FBI raided his Gracie Mansion residence and seized his phone.
Watch: Federal prosecutors file charges against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
The 57-page indictment accuses Adams of 5 crimes: Posts in regards to the Democrat's 2021 mayoral campaign and his other conduct dating back to 2014, when he was Brooklyn borough president.
Much of the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, focuses on the Turkish community and Turkish businessmen who allegedly exerted influence over Adams. Adams is accused of accepting well over $100,000 in foreign travel advantages.
The indictment alleges that a “senior official in Turkey's diplomatic establishment” facilitated illegal campaign contributions to Adams and in addition arranged for the mayor and his companions to receive free or discounted flights on Turkish Airlines – which is basically owned by the Turkish government – to France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey.
In September 2021, the indictment says, the Turkish official told Adams “that it was now his turn to retaliate against the official” by pressuring the New York City Fire Department to permit the opening of a brand new, 36-story Turkish consulate constructing “without a fire inspection and in time for a high-level visit by the Turkish president.”
“At that time, the building would not have passed an inspection by the New York Fire Department,” the indictment states.
Adams “did what he was told” and a New York Police Department officer “was told he would lose his job if he did not comply,” the indictment says.
The constructing was then opened as requested, the indictment states.
“I look forward to defending myself and the people of this city as I have done throughout my professional career,” Adams said outside Gracie Mansion, surrounded by his supporters, after the indictment was unsealed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
The indictment alleges that Adams, a 64-year-old former police captain, received greater than $10 million in public grants for campaign contributions through the use of so-called dummy donors within the United States to hide the acceptance of foreign campaign contributions.
Download the total indictment.
Beginning in 2014 and “for nearly a decade thereafter, Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, including luxurious international travel, from, among others, wealthy foreign businessmen and at least one Turkish government official who attempted to gain influence over him,” the indictment states.
“By 2018, Adams – who had since announced his plans to run for mayor of New York City – was not only accepting but soliciting illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign and other items of value from foreign nationals. As ADAMS' notoriety and power grew, his foreign benefactors sought to capitalize on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when it became clear in 2021 that Adams would become mayor of New York City.”
“Adams agreed and granted him preferential treatment in exchange for the illegal benefits he received. After his inauguration as Mayor of New York City, ADAMS soon began preparing for his next election, including by planning to solicit additional illegal contributions and comply with requests from those who had supported his 2021 mayoral campaign with such donations.”
The indictment charges Adams with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery in reference to federal programs, and accepting campaign contributions from a foreign national.
He can also be accused of wire fraud, twice soliciting foreign nationals for donations and bribery.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams and a senior FBI official whose office investigated Adams will hold a press conference at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday “to announce significant charges of public corruption,” Williams' office said.
Adams is no less than the second New York mayor to face criminal charges during his term in office.
And he’s the primary official in his administration to be charged in quite a few ongoing investigations that also involve the New York Police Department and town's top school official.
Adams' attorney Alex Spiro said in an announcement Thursday morning: “This morning, federal agents showed up at Gracie Mansion to (once again) create a spectacle and (once again) take away Mayor Adams' phone.”
“He was not arrested and is looking forward to his day in court,” Spiro said. “They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have gladly turned it over.”
It was already known Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office investigated Adams for a possible conspiracy with the Turkish government to funnel illegal donations to the campaign.
The New York Times It was reported on Monday that prosecutors in July issued grand jury subpoenas to City Hall, Adams and his campaign team demanding information on five additional countries: Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.
Adams issued a defiant statement Wednesday night after news of the costs broke.
“I believe that the federal government intends to accuse me of crimes,” Adams said in a video statement. “If that is the case, then these charges would be completely false and based on lies.”
“But they would not come as a surprise. I always knew that if I spoke out for all of you, I would become a target – and a target I became.
“If I’m charged, I’m innocent and I’ll fight it with all my strength and determination,” said Adams, who after his career in the police force served first as a state senator and then as Brooklyn borough president.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and the FBI declined to comment on the charges.
Earlier, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) called on the mayor to resign on Wednesday. She said the “flood of resignations and vacancies” resulting from various federal government investigations into government officials “threatens the functions of presidency.”
“For the good of the city, he should resign,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
After news of the charges broke, a growing number of elected officials and other political figures in New York City have called on Adams to resign. Among them are City Treasurer Brad Lander and State Senator Zellnor Myrie, both of whom are running for mayor next year, and former Treasurer Scott Stringer, who is considering a run for City Hall.
If Adams resigns before the end of his first term, he will be succeeded by New York City Ombudsman Jumaane Williams as acting mayor.
There are currently several federal investigations underway against Adams and individuals associated with him and his government.
On Tuesday, city Schools Chancellor David Banks Adams said he expects to retire at the end of 2024.
Banks' surprise announcement came weeks after federal authorities seized electronic devices belonging to him, his brother, Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, and his fiancée, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.
Another of Banks' brothers, Terence, is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan in connection with the awarding of city contacts worth millions of dollars to companies that received those contacts after hiring Terence Banks' consulting firm.
The same prosecutor is currently investigating whether James Caban, the twin brother of the former New York Police Commissioner Edward Cabanused his connections with his brother and the NYPD to benefit his nightclub security business.
Edward Caban resigned as police chief on September 12, a week after his own phone was seized by federal investigators.
Three days after Edward Caban's resignation, Adams' legal advisor and general counsel Lisa Zornberg also resigned. She said she had “come to the conclusion that I can now not perform my duties.”
Last Friday, federal investigators executed search warrants at the homes of NYPD Deputy Commissioner Thomas Donlon.
Donlon, a former senior FBI counterterrorism official in New York, said this week that investigators had taken “materials that got here into my possession about 20 years ago and don’t have anything to do with my work with the New York Police Department.”
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