Mayor Eric Adams returns to court Friday to fight bribery charge
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Mayor Eric Adams will be back in court on Friday fighting to have one of the charges in his corruption case dropped.
The mayor's team claims there is no basis for the bribery count because prosecutors are unable to show any quid pro quo.
Judge Dale Ho has allotted 20 minutes of oral argument for each side. He is also prepared to discuss a trial date.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to corruption charges and his attorney has argued the bribery count should be dismissed because the evidence does not support it.
"There was no quid pro quo. There was no this for that," defense attorney Alex Spiro has said.
Federal prosecutors have said there was a quid pro quo in which Adams took luxury travel from a foreign official in exchange for influencing the city's regulation of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan.
"Adams's claim that the Indictment does not say what it literally recites fails on its face," prosecutors said in a recent court filing. "Adams claims that accepting tens of thousands of dollars' worth of benefits in exchange for pressuring a City agency is 'routine' and 'common.' But however routine that may have been for Adams, the law permits a jury to conclude that it was nonetheless illegal."
On Thursday night, in a separate ruling, a federal judge denied Mayor Adams' request for an evidentiary hearing to explore purported leaks by prosecutors and agents.
In an opinion, Judge Dale Ho said "Mayor Adams has not made a showing that an attorney for the Government (or their agents) made the alleged disclosure(s)."
Friday's hearing will remain focused on the bribery count.
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