New York City Mayor Eric Adams is due to be arraigned in a federal courthouse on Friday to face five counts of criminal offences, including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
An indictment unveiled on Thursday alleges Adams sought and accepted illegal campaign funds and over $100,000 (£75,000) in luxury travel benefits from Turkish businessmen and an official seeking to gain his influence.
Adams, 64, is a former police officer who was elected to lead the most populous US city nearly three years ago on a promise to be tough on crime.
The mayor has denied any wrongdoing and rejected growing calls for his resignation.
Mr Adams’ arraignment, in which he will be formally informed of the charges and asked to enter a plea, will take place at noon local time before Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker.
“I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defence before making any judgments,” Adams said at a press conference on Thursday.
“I follow the rules, I follow the federal law, I do not do anything that’s going to participate in illegal campaign activity.”
The news conference was regularly interrupted by New York residents who called Adams a “disgrace” to the city and asked for “justice”.
If convicted, the mayor could face up to 45 years in prison.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul – who has the power to remove the mayor from his post – said on Thursday she was reviewing the charges.
“I’m going to take the time I need to review this indictment, see what’s embedded with this, but my number one responsibility is to make sure the people of New York city and state of New York are served,” Governor Hochul said.
Adams can also be ousted from the mayor’s office by a so-called “inability committee”, which would likely include at least a few city officials who oppose him.
The 57-page indictment lays out an alleged scheme of corruption and bribery that spans a decade, beginning when he was the Brooklyn borough president. The corrupt activity continued after he became mayor, the documents alleged, and included extravagant international travel.
In one alleged text exchange included in the indictment, an Adams staffer and an airline manager discuss where the mayor should stay on a trip to Turkey.
After the airline manager suggests the Four Seasons, the staffer replies “it’s too expensive”.
“Why does he care? He is not going to pay,” the manager replies.
“Super,” the Adams staffer says.
Prosecutors claim that same staffer asked the airline manager to charge Adams an artificial price for his travel, to conceal the favourable treatment.
“His every step is being watched right now,” the staffer says, suggesting the mayor be charged $1,000 for a flight to Turkey. “Let it be somewhat real.”
At a Thursday press conference, US attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams alleged that the mayor developed relationships with foreign nationals to take in illegal funds for his 2021 campaign.
“In 2023 the mayor rekindled these corrupt relationships, seeking more illegal campaign contributions from some of the same foreign sources to support his re-election campaign,” said Mr Williams.
The indictment notes Adams used straw donors – a scheme that a person or entity uses to evade campaign finance limits – to take in illegal donations from foreign entities.
Prosecutors say his campaign also applied and received NYC funds that are supposed to match small dollar contributions from city residents, which amounted to more than $10m.
He is also accused of seeking to conceal the benefits he received, hiding the gifts from annual disclosure forms and telling a co-conspirator he “always” deleted text messages related to illegal trips and gifts, according to court documents.
Several high-profile New York Democrats, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have called on Adams to step down.
Others, including House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, stopped short, saying Adams was entitled to the presumption of innocence.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied any connection to political squabbles over immigration and disputed any coordination between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House.
“DOJ is handling this case independently,” she told reporters on Thursday.
Since being sworn in on the first day of 2022, Adams and his colleagues have been put under growing federal scrutiny.
The FBI raided the home of his chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and other members of his campaign last year as part of a probe believed to be focused on whether he received illegal campaign contributions from the Turkish government and other foreign sources.
In more recent weeks, the Adams’ administration has been roiled by the resignation of a number of top aides as new investigations grew to a fever pitch. The police commissioner, the health commissioner, and the mayor’s chief counsel have all left office.
New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks also announced his plans to resign weeks after federal investigators seized his phones during a search of the home that he shares with his partner, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, on 4 September.
Amid the upheaval, Adams has received some of the lowest approval ratings of any mayor in city history and a crowded field of Democratic primary challengers – potentially including disgraced former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo – is gearing up to challenge his bid for re-election.
If Adams resigns or is removed before his term ends next year, Jumaane Williams – the city’s left-leaning public advocate – will replace him. – BBC
By Holly Honderich and Madeline Halpert