By Elaina Batista, Contributor
New York, NY- New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on five federal charges, which puts his seat of mayoral candidacy at risk. As of Thursday, Sept. 26, the 57-page indictment was unsealed and released to the public. According to CNN, the five federal charges Adams is facing are as follows: bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and two counts of soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
The counts of indictment were announced by the southern district attorney of New York, Damian Williams. The focus of the investigation was on whether Adams colluded with the Turkish government to obtain illicit foreign campaign contributions in exchange for acting on its behalf, as reported by the New York Times. This news has taken a major blow to his administration, as attested by New York Magazine; Adams has lost his top legal adviser, police commissioner, schools chancellor and health commissioner.
These events unfolding have put pressure on all New York government officials, especially the governor of New York, Kathy Hochul. On Sept. 26, Fox reporter Morgan McKay posted a statement on X from Hochul, which read, “While I review my options and obligations as the Governor of New York, I expect the Mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of NYC are being well-served.”
As stated by Politico, the charges against Adams specified that he accepted free travel on Turkish Airlines and luxury hotel rooms worth more than $100,000, along with other perks, including illegal contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign. With this, Adams compounded his gains from straw contributions – meaning a person who illegally used another’s money to make a political contribution in their own name – by using them to defraud New York City and steal public funds on the testimony of the United States Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors claimed that Mayor Eric Adams facilitated the opening of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan by using his newfound authority as mayor.
Before maintaining the mayoral office, Adams was captain of the NYPD from 1984-2006. In 2013, he was elected the Brooklyn borough president. He has served as the city’s mayor since 2022.
Adams appeared in court Friday, Sept. 27 to face his five federal charges. The mayor was arraigned before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan on Friday at noon, according to an order issued by Judge Dale Ho, the judge assigned to the Adams case. \
“I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense,” Mayor Adams said, per real-time updates from the New York Times.
Prior to his arraignment, Adams promised to resist the accusations and to remain in government. As of Friday afternoon, Adams pleaded not guilty to all five federal charges, according to the New York Times. The arraignment lasted less than 20 minutes, and during this arraignment, he stated that he understood his rights and waived his right for the 57 page indictment to be read aloud in court. After the hearing, Mayor Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, spoke outside the courthouse and claimed Adams was “the victim of a targeted investigation,” as reported by New York Times live updates on the case. Spiro plans to ask the court to dismiss the charges at the next court hearing on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
The one federal charge, wire fraud, pertains to the claims that Adams misrepresented the genuine sources of donations received through “straw donors” in order to fraudulently obtain public matching funds for his campaign. All of his charges are related to his connection with the Turkish government. Additionally, Politico claims that Adams has demonstrated a strong interest in Turkey for most of his career. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as the president of the Brooklyn borough and attended close to 80 celebrations of the country.
Mayor Adams faces a maximum 45 year prison sentence if found guilty on all five charges in the indictment. Furthermore, Jumanne Williams, the public advocate for New York City, would take over as mayor if Adams were removed from his position. This case will continue to unfold with the Southern District Attorney, Damian Williams, spearheading the case and the ruling made by Judge Dale Ho.