(NEWS UPDATE USA FAST)-- New York Mayor Eric Adams made history by becoming the first mayor in the history of the city to have criminal charges filed against him while still in office, with federal bribery, fraud, and campaign finance violations hanging over his head.
The 57-page indictment unsealed Thursday accuses Adams of a decade of corrupt activities, claiming he acted as an illegal agent for the government of Turkey in return for illegal campaign contributions and luxury foreign travel.
Mayor Adams abused his position, first as the highest-ranking official in the city and earlier as Brooklyn Borough President, by accepting bribes and soliciting illegal campaign contributions, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said during a news conference.
The indictment also accuses Adams of stealing $10 million from the city's public campaign finance system and taking $100,000 worth of free travel to France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey.
As Adams' influence grew, especially with his expected victory in the New York City mayoral election, which occurred in 2021, his foreign donors attempted to leverage their corrupt relationship with Adams to their benefit," the indictment states. "Adams responded by conferring favorable treatment where the illegal benefits bestowed upon him were concerned.
The former police captain has been pretty defiant, almost, refusing to be cowed into resigning from office.
For the last 10 months, we've faced leaks, speculation and demonization," Adams told reporters after the charges were unveiled. "Coming to this moment is not a surprise. I urge New Yorkers to withhold judgment until they hear our side of the story.
Suspect sources
Eric Adams has faced suspicion over his fundraising and practices long before he was elected mayor in 2021. Early this year, federal agents seized his phone and raided properties connected with his top campaign fundraiser.
This month, investigators from the U.S. Attorney's office in Manhattan expanded the investigation to members of Mr. Adams's inner circle, including the police commissioner, who later resigned. Ben Greeman, writing for the public affairs journal Vital City, said of the controversy: What makes this moment in New York City history so tragic is that so many saw it coming right down Broadway. Even those who liked Adams couldn't ignore his tendency to raise funds from questionable sources and surround himself with individuals who treated rules as flexible.
Federal agents raided Adams official residence at Gracie Mansion on Thursday morning. Nearly a dozen investigators, arriving before dawn in a convoy of vehicles, descended upon Gracie Mansion. Alex Spiro, an attorney for Adams, accused the investigators of trying to create a spectacle by seizing his phone, The New York Times reported.
$10 million in public campaign funds
Adams has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
If it's about campaign violations, I know I haven't broken any campaign laws, Adams said. If it involves foreign donors, I don't accept money from foreign donors.
The indictment accuses him of receiving illegal foreign contributions and concealing donations through the use of straw donors. The indictment also alleges he inflated his campaign funds by accepting public matching funds for those illegal donations. New York City's public campaign financing system pays candidates $8 in public funds for every $1 they raise from small donors, as long as they stick to certain limits.
It says Adams' campaign received $10 million in public funds by way of these illegal donations.
The FBI and the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan did not return requests for comment.
The case of the Turkish skyscraper
The indictment says Adams retaliated by directing city officials to grant an occupancy permit for a new Turkish consulate when the building failed to meet fire inspection standards.
By the following September, with Adams having won the Democratic primary and all but certain to capture the mayor's office, Turkish officials were racing to complete a 36-story consular building in Manhattan in time for a visit from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
According to the indictment, Adams leaned on the city's fire department to hurry through the approval process, with a top fire inspector said to have been warned he would be fired unless he did so.
Following Adams' interventional, the skyscraper opened as scheduled, the indictment reads.
Adams's appointee helped indict him
For Thursday's press conference, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams was flanked by Jocelyn Stauber, the city's investigations commissioner and a Mayor Adams appointee. We approached this investigation as we would any other, Stauber said. Our goal is to follow the facts wherever they may lead, and to hold accountable those who are responsible, regardless of position or title. Our unparalleled access to city records and deep experience with city government make us an essential partner in the fight against corruption.
A spate of investigations
Mayor Eric Adams is under growing pressure as several federal investigations target his administration. In September, Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned one day after federal raids hindered several high-ranking city officials, including Caban himself, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice Philip Banks III, and Schools Chancellor David Banks.
Preliminary investigations started last year, with federal prosecutors specifically examining whether the Adams campaign received illegal foreign contributions from Turkey. Other reports suggested investigators were investigating allegations of a nightclub protection racket in New York involving members of the NYPD among others, and possible irregularities involving municipal contracts concerning migrant housing.
