What we know about Eric Adams' indictment
- New York Mayor Eric Adams was hit with five charges: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; wire fraud; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and bribery.
- Adams strongly denied any wrongdoing at a defiant news conference. "I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments," he said. Federal prosecutors said he repeatedly crossed "bright red lines."
- His administration is reeling from multiple high-level resignations and at least four federal probes.
- Prominent voices from New York and national political circles called on Adams to resign last night.
- The FBI searched Adams' home, Gracie Mansion, this morning, according to video from NBC New York, NBC News and multiple people familiar with the matter.
Adams to appear in court at noon tomorrow
According to the court, Adams’ initial appearance and arraignment will be at noon ET tomorrow before Federal Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.
Adams: 'Let me be clear, I know I've done nothing wrong'
Hours after a defiant news conference, in which he repeatedly denied wrongdoing in the face of five federal corruption charges, Adams said on X: “Let me be clear, I know I’ve done nothing wrong, and I am committed to continuing to fight on behalf of New Yorkers as your mayor.”
Adams' attorney requests arraignment be held tomorrow or Monday
A lawyer for Adams requested that his arraignment take place tomorrow or Monday, according to a court filing. Attorney Alex Spiro added that the government does not object to the request.
Schumer reacts: 'No one is above the law'
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a brief statement hours after Adams was indicted: “No one is above the law, including the Mayor of New York City. The charges are serious, and the legal process should now play out speedily and fairly.”
White House denies claim that Adams indictment was politically motivated
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre today shot down the idea that the federal indictment of Adams was politically motivated.
"The DOJ is handling this case independently. I'm not going to go beyond that," Jean-Pierre said at a news conference.
The statement follows claims and suggestions that Adams' indictment could have been a form of political retribution for his criticism of the Biden administration's migration policies.
Adams planted the seed of that idea in a video statement distributed last night.
"I always knew that if I stood my ground for you that I would be a target, and a target I became," Adams said in the video. "Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics.
"I have been facing these lies for months since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started," Adams continued, appearing to suggest that he was facing persecution for his pushback against the Biden administration.
After the Adams indictment was unsealed, conservative media quickly expanded on the idea today.
In a Fox News segment, co-host Lawrence Jones said: "I find the timing a little coincidental, and I don't believe in coincidences and politics. He was a co-chair of the campaign for Biden and Harris, and all of the sudden when he starts to criticize them on their migrant crisis, he gets an investigation."
The New York Post ran an article in the wake of the indictment's unsealing diving into Adams' history of criticizing the Biden administration, leaning into the idea that his prosecution was connected.
Some online influencers have also picked up on the idea. Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire called the prosecution a "political witch hunt" in a post on X shared with his more than 150,000 followers.
Gov. Hochul gives first comments on indictment
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said that Adams' indictment is a "very serious matter" but that she wants to take time to "read this and absorb" the accusations.
"I’ll take the opportunity now to tell you that later today I will be addressing the substance that is found within this indictment," she said at an unrelated news conference.
Hochul promised that she’ll be deliberative and thoughtful and will "come to the right resolution." She will further address the indictment later today.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries says indictment is a 'serious and sober moment' for NYC
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said the indictment "is a serious and sober moment" for New York City.
"Like every other New Yorker and American, Eric Adams is entitled to the presumption of innocence. That principle is central to the administration of justice in the United States of America," he said. "A jury of the Mayor’s peers will now evaluate the charges in the indictment and ultimately render a determination. In the meantime, I pray for the well-being of our great City."
Adams repeatedly crossed 'bright red lines,' prosecutors say
Prosecutors said today that for years Adams engaged in bribery, accepted illegal contributions from foreign sources and corporations and tried to conceal it in what they described as a “grave breach of the public’s trust.”
“Public office is a privilege. We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law,” Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a news conference.
“Laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power. These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years,” he continued. “That is the only reason we are here.”
Federal prosecutors alleged that Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy to solicit and accept “illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations.”
“Mayor Adams took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal,” Williams said, adding that Adams knew the contributions were attempts “by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him.”
Adams is also alleged to have sought and accepted more than $100,000 “in luxury travel benefits” including free international business class flights and stays at opulent hotels abroad.
Williams said Adams did not disclose the gifts and instead “kept the public in the dark” and “told the public he received no gifts.” In exchange, he is alleged to have “intervened in the New York City Fire Department’s inspection process for a building owned and operated by the Turkish government, allowing it to open even though it had not passed the fire inspection.”
Adams also sought contributions from businessmen “far in excess of what the law allowed” and from corporations, which are now allowed to contribute to NYC elections, prosecutors said.
Adams is alleged to have tried to hide the contributions by disguising them as “straw donors,” which hides the source of the donation.
Who are the businesspeople in the Adams indictment?
The sprawling indictment against Mayor Adams mentions multiple Turkish figures. One businesswoman mentioned is likely Demet Sabanci Cetindogan, a member of one of the wealthiest families in Turkey. Her company, Demsa, owns the St. Regis Istanbul hotel where Adams stayed during his visits. The indictment notes that the unnamed businesswoman is also the owner of that hotel.
The “businessman 1” mentioned in the indictment, meanwhile, is likely Enver Yucel, owner and chairman of the for-profit Bahcesehir University in Istanbul. The university has a U.S. campus in Washington, D.C., which is referred to as Bay Atlantic University. Yucel has also met with Adams in New York on multiple occasions, as New York magazine reported last year.
Adams plagued by hecklers
Mayor Adams was accosted by a heckler as soon as he approached the podium on Thursday. “This is not a Black thing, this is a you thing!” shouted the heckler armed with a megaphone. “This is a you thing, Adams. This is not a good thing. You are a disgrace to all Black people in this city. The things that you have done are unconscionable.”
Hecklers continued to interrupt the mayor and his guest speakers, including author and activist Hazel Nell Dukes, who reprimanded the protesters, at one point saying, “Would you be quiet? Would you shut up?”
As Adams left the podium, the hecklers shouted, “Resign! Resign!”