Eric Adams pleads not guilty to federal charges in New York

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to federal charges he accepted illegal foreign campaign donations and lavish trips in exchange for political favors.

Adams appeared at a Manhattan federal courthouse Friday morning to enter not guilty pleas on five counts, including wire fraud, bribery and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. He gave a thumbs-up to reporters when entering the building.

Prosecutors said Friday that Adams faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious charge — wire fraud, according to The Associated Press.

Federal prosecutors allege that, beginning in 2015 as Brooklyn’s borough president and later as mayor, Adams accepted luxurious trips and travel benefits from Turkish businessmen and at least one government official in exchange for his influence. He did not disclose those benefits in annual financial disclosures and at times created or instructed others to create fake paper trails, they said.

The Turkish official eventually sought repayment for the benefits provided to Adams, asking the mayor to facilitate the opening of a new Turkish consular building without a proper fire inspection. Prosecutors say Adams obliged and pressured the city’s fire department to allow the building to open, despite the fact it would have failed a safety inspection at the time.

Adams is further accused of accepting straw donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign and falsely certifying them as in compliance with campaign finance regulations. Because of the city’s donation matching program, Adams’s campaign allegedly illegally received more than $10 million in public funds.  

Prosecutors say that the scheme continued after Adams was inaugurated as mayor, contending he began planning to solicit additional illegal contributions and granting requests from 2021 supporters who made such donations ahead of his next election.  

At a press conference Thursday, surrounded by supporters, Adams said he expected the indictment and vowed to fight back. He has pushed back against a flood of calls for his resignation.

“I ask to wait and hear our side to this narrative. From here, my attorneys will take care of the case, so I can take care of the city,” Adams said. “My day to day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.” 

The indictment followed a series of investigations into Adams’s associates, resulting in FBI raids and resignations from top officials including the city’s police commissioner, health commissioner, schools chancellor and chief legal adviser.  

Federal agents entered the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, early Thursday and seized his phone, hours prior to the indictment’s unsealing. Adams attorney Alex Spiro told The Associated Press their presence was an “effort to create a spectacle (again).” 

At a press conference Thursday unveiling the indictment, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York said Adams’s alleged conduct violated public trust. 

“These are bright red lines, and we alleged that the mayor crossed them again and again, for years,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said.

Adams’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 2 before U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, who was nominated by President Biden last year.