‘People do this all the time’ says Eric Adams over bribery and corruption charges

Eric Adams’ lawyer has claimed people “do this all the time” during a press conference as he denied five criminal charges the mayor is facing.
Mr Adams was indicted this morning on charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lawyer, told reporters that the allegations are part of a smear campaign against the beleaguered mayor.
“They want to tarnish him. They want to tarnish him in your eyes,” Mr Spiro said. “There’s no corruption, this is not a real case. we’re going to see everyone in court.”
Mr Adams is due to be arraigned in a federal court either tomorrow or on Monday but has vowed to fight on.
The indictment means that the former police captain, 64, who was elected three years ago on a platform of cutting crime, has become the first sitting New York mayor to face criminal charges.
It follows a public corruption investigation that began in 2021 and looked into allegations that the Turkish government illegally funneled money into his election campaign. 
Thanks for following our live coverage of the criminal charges brought against Eric Adams. This live blog is now closed.
Donald Trump has wished Eric Adams luck after the New York mayor suggested he was being prosecuted by Joe Biden’s administration.
“We have people that use the Justice Department, and the FBI, at levels that have never been seen before,” said Trump, who was found guilty of falsifying business records in his criminal “hush money” trial earlier this year.
“I wish him luck,” the former president added.
Eric Adams has implied that the criminal indictment against him is a result of his criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the migrant crisis.
The Democrat became the first sitting New York Mayor to be federally indicted on Wednesday, almost a year after his phones were seized as part of an investigation into illegal foreign donations.
Responding to the charges, Mr Adams suggested the investigation was the result of the Biden administration unfairly targeting him because of his criticism of the White House for failing to help the city cope with the influx of immigrants crossing the US southern border.
Read the full story from Susie Coen, our US Correspondent, here.
Eric Adams must appear at noon tomorrow before a federal magistrate judge, Katherine Parker, for an arraignment, the Federal District Court in Manhattan has said.
Based on Mr Adams’ public statements and those of his lawyer, he will be expected to enter a plea of not guilty.
Eric Adams has been ordered to appear before a federal magistrate judge for an arraignment on Friday, US media reports.
The Speaker of New York’s City Council has not begun considering the removal of Eric Adams from office despite the mayor’s five criminal charges. 
Adrienne Adams, who is also a Democrat but not a relative of Mr Adams, said that people charged with crimes are presumed innocent and have a right to defend themselves.
“We will continue to monitor the situation, to be in talks with our colleagues both at city and state level as we all monitor the situation and see how this further unfolds,” she said.
However, Ms Adams asked the mayor to consider whether his criminal case meant “full attention can be given to our deserving New Yorkers who need our government to be sound and stable.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that Mayor Adams is not above the law.
“No one is above the law, including the Mayor of New York City,” the New York Democrat said in a statement. “The charges are serious, and the legal process should now play out speedily and fairly.”
Mayor Adams could appear in court as early as Friday.
Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lawyer, requested that he be arraigned on either Friday or Monday, according to a court filing. 
Mr Spiro said that prosecutors did not object to the request.
A prominent Black Lives Matter activist has issued a scathing rebuke of Mayor Adams.
Chivona Newsome, the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Greater New York chapter, told reporters: “We cannot allow a criminal to run our city. We have no true leadership.”
Disgruntled hecklers denounced Mr Adams, who is the second black mayor of New York, as a “disgrace to the black community” at a press conference this morning. 
Others labelled him a “disgrace to David Dinkins”, who was the first black mayor of the city.
Mayor Adams was instructed by a Turkish official to stay silent about the Armenian Genocide ahead of a remembrance day to mark the massacre, according to the indictment.
The official allegedly told one of the Mayor’s staffers to “not make any statement about the Armenian Genocide” before the April anniversary, to which the staffer responded that Mr Adams wouldn’t mention it.
 The Turkish government has repeatedly denied that the 1915 killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians qualifies as a genocide.
 Hakeem Jeffries, the most senior Democrat in the House of Representatives, labelled the indictment against Mayor Adams  a “serious and sober moment”.
“A jury of the mayor’s peers will now evaluate the charges in the indictment and ultimately render a determination,” Mr Jeffries said in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter.
“In the meantime, I pray for the well-being of our great city.”
Asked about Mayor Adams’ indictment, a White House spokesman said: “The president was clear, even when he was running in 2020, that he was going to make sure that DOJ is independent and the DOJ is handling this case independently.”
 
Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, has said she is weighing up whether to remove Eric Adams as Mayor, the New York Times reported.
“This is a very serious matter that is unfolding,” said Hochul,  adding that she would be deliberative and thoughtful while weighing up whether to defenestrate Adams, a fellow Democrat.
“My No. 1 responsibility is to make sure that the people of New York City and the state of New York are served,” she said.
Mr Adams is accused of directing his staffer to “obtain the illegal contributions offered” by a Turkish businessman who owned a university in Istanbul.
During a meeting at Brooklyn Borough Hall in November 2018, the businessman offered to contribute to Mr Adams’ 2021 campaign.
Mr Adams wrote to his staffer that the businessman “is ready to help.I don’t want his willing to help be waisted [sic].”
Mr Adams’ staffer initially told the Turkish promoter he didn’t think Mr Adams would “get involved in such games” when he suggested donating to his campaign through straw donors – but he appears to have quickly changed his tune. 
On 22 June 2018, the Turkish “promoter” texted Mr Adams’ staffer: “Fund Raising in Turkey is not legal, but I think I can raise money for your campaign off the record.”
The staffer replied: “How will [Adams] declare that money here?”
The “promoter” replied: “He won’t declare it . . . Or … We’ll make the donation through an American citizen in the US… A Turk… I’ll give cash to him in Turkey… Or I’ll send it to an American …He will make a donation to you.”
Mr Adams’ staffer responded: “I think he wouldn’t get involved in such games. They might cause a big stink later on,” but “I’ll ask anyways.”
The staffer then asked: “how much do you think would come from you? $?”
The “promoter” said it would be “Max $100K”.
The staffer replied: “100K? Do you have a chance to transfer that here? . . . We can’t do it while Eric is in Turkey,” to which the “promoter” replied: “Let’s think.” 
Mr Adams’ staffer is said to have been directed by Mr Adams to “pursue the promoter’s illegal scheme”.
Mr Adams is accused of having “solicited and knowingly accepted straw donations, including from foreign sources”.
In April 2018 Mr Adams asked the airline manager to fundraise for his campaign and they sought to organise a fundraiser.
On 14 June 2018 the Turkish official texted Mr Adams’ staffer asking: “how much can companies donate?”, to which he replied that only individuals, not businesses, can donate.
Mr Adams attended a fundraiser organised by the airline manager and others on 22 June 2018. Following the event, the Turkish official asked for the “list of the participants of the June 22 meeting.”
The list included the names of people who donated more than $15,000 in the following days.
An airport transportation business owner, who helped host the fundraiser with the airline manager, messaged Mr Adams’ staffer saying he had facilitated a straw donation “through an associate”. Records show the “associate ultimately donated $3,000 in his own name and described himself as unemployed”.
If Mr Adams were to resign, he would be immediately replaced by Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate.
Mr Williams, a Democrat, would then schedule a special election.
In a statement on Thursday, Mr Williams did not explicitly call for Adams to step down. However, he said: “It is federal officials’ obligation to prove their case, it is the mayor’s obligation to prove to New Yorkers that there is a real plan and path to govern the city effectively and regain trust, and his time to show that plan is rapidly running out.”
Mr Adams saw his fundraising for the 2021 mayoral race as “vital” to his success, according to the indictment.
He texted a close supporter later in the campaign: “You win the race by raising money…Have to raise money. Everything else is fluff.”
He added: “I have a 7 million dollar race. I have a clear plan to raise it and each night we are out executing the plan.”
Mr Adams is said to have cut off relationships with a Turkish community centre in Brooklyn seen as hostile to the Turkish government  in 2016 “in return for travel benefits” the Turkish official had arranged.The indictment states: “the Turkish Official told Adams that the Community Center was affiliated with a Turkish political movement that was hostile to Turkey’s government, and that if Adams wished to continue receiving support from the Turkish government, Adams could no longer associate with the Community Center. Adams acquiesced.”
Mr Adams is accused of attempting to create a “fake paper trail suggesting he had paid for his 2017 flights on the Turkish Airline, when in fact he had not.”
Mr Adams asked an employee, dubbed the “Adams Scheduler” in the indictment, to perform personal tasks such as collecting rent at a property he owned in Brooklyn.
He also asked her to pay expenses for him which he would reimburse in cash.  
Mr Adams is said to have sent several emails to his staffer about paying for his July and August 2017 Turkish Airlines flights.
In one email he said: “I left you the money for the international airline in an envelope in your top desk draw. [sic] Please send it to them.”
The email suggested he had left “well over $ 10,000 in cash” to send to them.
The indictment states the airline confirmed Mr Adams “did not pay the airline, in cash or otherwise, because the tickets were complimentary”.
Mr Adams is accused of trying to “conceal” the gifted flights, hotels and benefits from foreign nationals “seeking influence over him” by failing to disclose them. 
On his 2016 and 2017 forms Mr Adams said he had not received gifts from donors outside of New York worth more than $1,000 each year. 
He also said he had not received any gifts worth $50 or more from “a person, entity, donor, or affiliated donors” who did have business with New York City.
The indictment states the flights and discounted hotel stays each exceeded $1,000 “as would be obvious to anyone who, like Adams, had extensive experience traveling overseas”.
Mr Adams is accused of accepting “valuable travel and hospitality benefits for himself and his companions during their time in Turkey”. 
He, his relative and his liaison are alleged to have accepted a “heavily discounted stay at the St. Regis Istanbul, arranged by ‘the Promoter.’”
Mr Adams is said to have stayed in the Bentley Suite of the hotel, which is owned by the woman “who sought to ingratiate herself with Adams”.
Mr Adams is said to have paid less than $600 for a two-night hotel stay which should have cost around $7,000. 
Mr Adams flew Turkish Airlines even when “doing so was otherwise inconvenient” due to the thousands of dollars of free travel perks, according to the indictment.
When Mr Adams’ partner was surprised to learn he was in Turkey when he was flying from New York to France in 2017, he texted her: “Transferring here. Youknow first stop is always instanbul [sic].”
He is also said to have “repeatedly asked” his partner whether Turkish Airlines could be used when they were planning a trip to Easter Island in Chile, “requiring” her to call the airline to confirm they did not have routes between New York and Chile.
Mr Adams was introduced to the Turkish Airlines’ general manager in the New York City area by the Turkish official, according to the indictment.
On three trips across 2016 and 2017 Mr Adams is said to have “solicited and accepted free and heavily discounted luxury air travel from the Turkish Airline, as part of the Turkish Official’s efforts to gain influence over Adams”. 
In October 2016 Mr Adams and his partner travelled to India. His girlfriend purchased $2,286 economy class tickets for the couple. 
According to the indictment, two days before they were due to travel Mr Adams “accepted upgrades for himself and his partner by the Turkish Airline to business class” worth $15,000 for free. 
In July and August 2017 Mr Adams traveled to Nice, Istanbul, Columbo and China with a “close relative” and his liaison to the Asian-American communities in New York. 
Mr Adams is accused of accepting free business class tickets from the Turkish Airline “worth more than $35,000 total”, for himself and his companions.
The third trip, in October 2017, Mr Adams and his liaison traveled to Nepal through Istanbul and Beijing. Again, Mr Adams is said to have accepted free upgrades worth more than $16,000.
Adams’ 2015 trips to Turkey involved several people who were given code names in the indictment:“The Turkish Official”, who is alleged to have helped arrange Mr Adam’s travel and later “steered illegal contributions and improper gifts” to Mr Adams to “gain influence with and, eventually, to obtain corrupt official action from” him.“The Promoter”, who is accused of arranging straw donations to Mr Adams’ campaigns and giving favourable treatment to Mr Adams in Turket in 2017 and 2019. He was, the indictment alleges, “hoping to leverage Adams’ considerable fame in Turkey to benefit” his clients.“Businessman – 1”, the owner and chairman of the Turkish University, who was considering a business venture in Brookly. He also “sought to enhance his own status by befriending” Mr Adams and made illegal contributions to Mr Adams’ 2021 campaignThe “Adams Staffer” – who seved as Mr Adams’ “liason to eastern Europe Muslim countries” which included Turkey. The staffer was one of Adam’s paid staff at Borough Hall and later City Hall. He accompanied Mr Adams on his 2015 trip to Turkey and later, under the “direction” of Adams, “coordinated many of the illegal campaign contributions and improper personal travel benefits” noted in the indictment.
The “Businesswoman” – a wealthy Turkish businesswoman who gave Mr Adams “multiple free or steeply discounted stays in a luxury hotel she owned, and organised contributions to the 2021 campaign” 
Hazel Dukes, 92, the former leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and an Adams supporter, shut down hecklers chanting after the mayor’s press conference.
Addressing the crowds, Ms Dukes took to the microphone and said: I’m 90, would you shut up?” 
Mayor Adams suggested the indictment against him is politically motivated.
Questioned at a press conference this morning whether the indictment is political, he suggested we should “ask who ordered the directive”.
Mayor Adams has been accused of a “grave breach of the public trust”.
Damian Williams, US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said that Mayor Adams “abused” the privelige of public office and broke the law.
Addressing the charges, Mr Williams said: “These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years.”
 
Mr Adams received free business class flights on Turkish Airlines on two official trips to Turkey in August and December 2015.
The August trip was arranged by the Turkish consulate general in New York City, who paid for the trip with a Turkish university in Istanbul.
The second trip was arranged by another Turkish official and a Turkish entrepreneur, who is dubbed “the promoter” in the indictment, whose businesses include organising events “to introduce Turkish corporations and businesspeople to politicians, celebrities, and others whose influence may benefit the corporations” and business people.
Mr Adams disclosed his 2015 travel with the conflict of interest board.
As we expected, the indictment hones in on the approval of the 36-story Turkish consulate. The building was opened by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to great fanfare in September 2021.
The indictment alleged Mr Adams was told by the Turkish official in September 2021 “it was his turn to repay” him by pressuring the New York City Fire Department to facilitate the opening of the new Turkish consulate.
The building would have “failed” a fire inspection at the time it was opened, according to the indictment.
But in exchange for travel perks and other bribes, “Adams did as instructed” and told the FDNY official responsible for assessing the building he would be fired if he “failed to acquiesce”. 
 When the FDNY approved the building, Mr Adams notified the diplomat, who allegedly replied: “You are a true friend of Turkey”.
Mr Adams is accused of receiving other “improper benefits” from those who are alleged to have illegally funneled donations to his campaigns.
One co-conspirator, referred to in the indictment as a “senior official in the Turkish diplomatic establishment”, is alleged to have “arranged for Adams and his companions to receive free or discounted travel on Turkey’s national airline” to France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey. 
He is accused of being given “free rooms at opulent hotels, free meals at high-end restaurants and free luxurious entertainment while in Turkey.” 
Mr Adams is also accused of “building relationships with foreign nationals who were seeking influence with him” within a year of being elected Brooklyn Borough President in 2013. 
The indictment claims Mr Adams was “aware” the law prohibited foreign and corporate contributions. He is said to have opted into the Matching funds Program in September 2019 for the 2021 mayoral election, and again during his administration for the upcoming election. 
The Matching Funds Program provided $12,952,888 to mayoral candidates for the 2021 election cycle, and up to $14,191,334 during the 2025 cycle so far. 
There is “no” circumstance under which Mayor Adams would resign, he said in a press conference.
Asked pointblank if he would consider it, the Mayor said “no” before explaining that he was democratically elected.
Mr Adams exited the stage to chants of “resign” by incensed members of the crowd.
 
Mayor Adams was met with a wave of criticism as he attempted to answer questions after his press conference.
The mayor struggled to make himself heard as members of the crowd shouted that he was a “liar” and a “disgrace to the black community”.
 
Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York, has vowed to fight on despite being indicted on five criminal charges.
In a public address, the mayor claimed he had been demonised and said he “looked forward” to defending himself.
“I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do,” he said.
Standing outside Gracie Mansion and surrounded by prominent Black clergy and civic leaders, the mayor also urged New Yorkers to wait to make any judgments until after he presents his defense.
“I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments,” he said. “From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city.”
“It’s an unfortunate day. And its a painful day,” he added. “But inside all of that is a day when we will finally reveal why, for 10 months, I’ve gone through this. And I look forward to defending myself.”
Overseas donors are accused of “smuggling” their contributions to Mr Adams in a breach of federal laws to keep US elections free from foreign influence.
Meanwhile, Mr Adams’ wealthy donors are claimed to have “evaded” laws to limit the amount one person can donate to a candidate, while businesses “circumvented New York City’s ban on corporate contributions by funneling their donations through multiple employees”. 
Mr Adams is accused of “giving his secret patrons the undue influence over him that the law tries to prevent” by accepting the illegal donations.
Mr Adams provided “favourable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received”, according to the federal indictment, 
After he was inaugurated, Mr Adams is alleged to have “soon began preparing for his next election” which included “planning to solicit more illegal contributions” and “granting requests” to those who supported his 2021 bid. 
The mayor and those working at his direction are accused of repeatedly taking “steps to shield his solicitation and acceptance of these benefits from public scrutiny”.
Mr Adams did not disclose the travel benefits in annual financial disclosures, according to the indictment. 
He is also accused of paying a “nominal fee” to make it look as though he had paid for travel. 
The indictment adds that the mayor “created and instructed others to create fake paper trails, falsely suggesting that he had paid, or planned to pay, for travel benefits that were actually free”.
Mr Adams is also said to have deleted messages between himself and others involved in the alleged scheme, having told a co-conspirator he “always” deleted her messages.
By 2018, the indictment claims, Mr Adams “not only accepted but sought illegal campaign contributions” to his 2021 campaign to become New York mayor. 
It claims that Mr Adams’ foreign-national benefactors “sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships” with the mayor as his influence grew.
The indictment claims for a decade Mr Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits” including luxury international travel including from “at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him”. 
Mr Adams’ upgrades to first class flights on Turkish Airlines had been a point of contention. 
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, has been indicted on federal criminal charges.
The charges were unsealed on Thursday morning, revealing he had been charged with bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
It means that the former police captain, 64, who was elected three years ago on a platform of cutting crime, has become the first sitting New York mayor to face criminal charges.
Federal agents on Thursday morning swept into Gracie Mansions – the mayor’s official residence – in a pre-dawn raid involving nearly a dozen agents.
Read the full story here.
According to the indictment, Mr Adams went on to “defraud” New York City by by illegally using straw donations to draw in $10,000 of public matching funds. This means through people who falsely claimed they were giving their own money.
It is illegal to accept political donations from foreigners in the US.
It added that businesses circumvented the city’s campaign finance donation limits by funneling large donations through multiple employees.
Mayor Adams received more than $10 million in public funds to bolster his 2021 mayoral campaign, the indictment states.
This was enabled by the mayor and those working under him falsely certifying “compliance with applicable campaign finance regulations”.
“This was a multi-year scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise,” Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said at a news conference.
 
 
The indictment was unsealed at a just after 10.30am this morning at a Manhattan Federal court room.
It accuses Mr Adams of funneling illegal foreign donations through US-based straw donors.