Eric Adams indictment unsealed: NYC mayor accused of accepting improper campaign contributions
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is accused of taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A 57-page five-count federal indictment unsealed on Thursday morning has charged Mayor Eric Adams with bribery, wire fraud and accepting improper campaign contributions.
Adams is specifically charged with bribery, solicitation of illegal foreign campaign contributions, wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud -- charges that expose the mayor to significant prison time if convicted.
Prosecutors allege that Adams received free and steeply discounted flight upgrades valued at more than $100,000, as well as campaign contributions from straw donors, some of which helped him qualify for more than $10 million in matching public campaign funds.
"Mayor Adams took these contributions knowing they were illegal and aimed at buying influence," U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated. According to the indictment, the mayor received first-class flights and stays in opulent hotels while failing to disclose the gifts, as required by law. "Year after year, he kept the public in the dark, claiming he received no gifts," Williams added.
RELATED | What is Mayor Eric Adams charged with? Read the indictment
The mayor is also accused of intervening in New York City Fire Department procedures to benefit foreign interests. In one instance, Adams allegedly pressured fire inspectors to approve the opening of a Turkish consulate building despite safety concerns, all in exchange for personal favors.
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to U.S. elections, a safeguard to protect the democratic process. Williams detailed how Adams, aware of these restrictions, "directed his staff to pursue this illegal money," not only during his 2021 mayoral campaign but even after taking office, allegedly rekindling the same relationships to fund his reelection bid.
The alleged conduct predates Adams' time as mayor and dates to his time as Brooklyn Borough President. The indictment includes photos of fancy hotel rooms and other benefits the mayor allegedly took.
"We are not surprised," Adams said, as he asked New Yorkers to wait to hear his defense.
During his comments outside Gracie Mansion, Adams and other speakers, including former national president of the NAACP Hazel Dukes, battled heckling from Black Lives Matter NY, who are calling for his resignation.
Standing next to his client, defense attorney Alex Spiro called the indictment against Adams "a fake case" that criminalizes ordinary airline upgrades.
"We are talking about a total of $26,000," Spiro said.
The attorney said there are emails in which the mayor said "clearly no foreign money." He said the flight costs cited by federal prosecutors amount to "airline upgrades."
Spiro has asked the judge to set the mayor's arraignment and initial appearance for Monday or Tuesday.
The unsealing of the indictment came hours after federal agents entered Mayor Eric Adams' official residence and seized his phone early Thursday, hours before the indictment was made public.
About a dozen agents were spotted at Gracie Mansion, some carrying bags, as they entered through the East Gate, accompanied by NYPD officers. They spent at least an hour inside the mayor's residence.
"Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again)," Spiro said. "He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in."
Adams now becomes the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office. If he were to resign, he would be replaced by the city's public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who would then schedule a special election.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove the mayor, said she "carefully reviewed" the indictment on Thursday, in what she called "an extraordinarily difficult day for New York City."
While she did not call on Adams to resign, she said, "It's now up to Mayor Adams to show the City that he is able to lead."
She added that while she reviews her options and obligations as governor, she said she expects the mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and "find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders."
"We must give New Yorkers confidence that there is steady, responsible leadership at every level of government," she said.
Events leading to mayor's indictment
Adams, the police officer turned politician, along with members of his inner circle has spent nearly a year under the cloud of federal investigations.
His cell phones were seized and, in recent weeks, the residences of some of his closest confidants were searched by federal agents working on several related corruption probes.
The mayor two weeks ago, accepted the resignation of Edward Caban, his handpicked police commissioner, after the authorities issued a subpoena for his phones.
The mayor's chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, stepped down. This week, the schools chancellor, David Banks, announced plans to retire at the end of the year. Banks had also turned over his phone to federal authorities.
RELATED | Timeline of events leading up to Mayor Adams indictment
Banks' younger brothers, Philip, the deputy mayor for public safety, and Terence, also had their phones seized. David Banks' fiancée, Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor, had her phone seized as well.
Adams has said that, as a former police officer, he has always followed the rules. He has also said he has known of no "misdoings" within his administration.
He has repeatedly said he wasn't aware of any wrongdoing, dismissing speculation that he would face charges as "rumors and innuendo."
The federal investigations into his administration first emerged publicly on Nov. 2, 2023, when FBI agents conducted an early morning raid on the Brooklyn home of Adams' chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs.
At the time, Adams insisted he followed the law and said he would be "shocked" if anyone on his campaign had acted illegally. "I cannot tell you how much I start the day with telling my team we've got to follow the law," he told reporters at the time.
Days later, FBI agents seized the mayor's phones and iPad as he was leaving an event in Manhattan. The interaction was disclosed several days later by the mayor's attorney.
Other investigations have focused on city contracts and enforcement of regulations governing bars and clubs.
Only the second African-American to lead the nation's largest city, Adams had been hailed as the vanguard of a new generation of Democratic leader who could both support law enforcement and chart a progressive course coming out of a city-crushing pandemic.
He has led the city through a remarkable drop in violent crime after a COVID-era surge that led business leaders and residents to complain that New York was collapsing toward the bad old days of the 1980s.
ABC News and the Associated Press have contributed to this report.
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