By Katelynn Richardson
New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on five federal charges relating to illegal contributions to his 2021 campaign, according to the indictment unsealed Thursday.
The 57-page indictment alleges Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him” for nearly a decade.
Adams was charged with one count of “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals,” along with one count of wire fraud, two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national and one count of bribery.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams: “Today we are announcing campaign finance, bribery and conspiracy charges against Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City.” pic.twitter.com/Rk2TqEQ1MK
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 26, 2024
“As ADAMS’s prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that ADAMS would become New York City’s mayor,” the indictment states. “ADAMS agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received.”
A Turkish official who facilitated straw donations to the campaign provided Adams with free or discounted travel on the Turkish airline to locations such as “France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, and Turkey itself,” as well as perks like free hotel rooms, meals and entertainment from high-end establishments.
Adams failed to disclose travel benefits on his annual financial disclosures. At times, he created “fake paper trails” designed to show he paid for the benefits, the indictment alleges.
In exchange for benefits, Adams allegedly agreed to have the Turkish Consulate established in the city. (RELATED: Eric Adams Claims Biden-Harris Admin Targeted Him After He Spoke Out About ‘Broken Immigration Policies’)
“We expected this,” Adams said during a press conference Thursday. “This is not surprising to us at all.”
Adams urged listeners to “wait to hear” his defense before making judgements.
“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.”
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said Thursday that Adams “engaged in a long running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations.”
“Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark,” Williams said. “He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them.”
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
