NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy and soliciting a contribution by a foreign national.
The newly unsealed indictment alleges the mayor accepted illegal campaign donations, including from Turkish businessmen. The charges stems from several investigations swirling around the mayor and his administration, including an expanded probe into his dealings with five other foreign governments.
“As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced Thursday. “As we allege, Mayor Adams took these donations even though he knew they were illegal, and even though he knew these contributions were attempts by a Turkish governmental official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him.”
Williams said Adams “sought and accepted” more than $100,000 in luxury travel benefits, including free international flights and “opulent hotel rooms,” and he did not disclose those gifts.
“Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark. He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them,” Williams said.
The indictment claims Adams cultivated relationships with multiple Turkish businessmen in 2018 and continued to solicit donations from them as recently as last year.
“It didn’t stop with his first campaign for mayor,” said Williams. “As we allege, in 2023, the mayor rekindled these corrupt relationships, seeking more illegal campaign contributions from some of the same foreign sources to support his reelection campaign.”
The district attorney said the campaign also received illegal contributions from corporations, which is prohibited under New York City law, as well as others that exceeded the legal amount.
“Adams allegedly disguised them all in the same way by accepting the money through so-called straw donors,” Williams said.
NYC Mayor Adams speaks about federal indictment
Flanked by supporters, Adams publicly addressed the charges during a contentious press conference outside Gracie Mansion.
“We are not surprised, we expected this. This is not surprising to us at all. The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months – the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing – this did not surprise us that we reached this day,” Adams said. “I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgements.”
He is now the first sitting mayor in the city’s history to be indicted on federal charges. Spectators repeatedly interrupted his press conference, demanding he resign.
“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,” the mayor said. “And the 300,000+ employees of our city government will continue to do their jobs, because this is what we do as New Yorkers.”
Sources tell CBS News that Adams could appear in court to face the charges as soon as Thursday. Federal agents were seen outside Gracie Mansion earlier in the morning, and the mayor’s attorney said they seized his phones.
“We have known for some time that they would try to find a way to bring a case against Mayor Adams. Yesterday — more improper leaks. Today — they emailed us a summons (and created the spectacle of a bogus raid). And very soon they will no doubt hold an hour-long dog-and-pony show presser rather than appear in open court,” the mayor’s attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement. “Federal judges call them out all the time for spinning in front of the cameras and tainting jurors. But they keep doing it because they can’t help themselves, the spotlight is just too exciting. We will see them in court.”
Read the full indictment and more details on the charges here.
What did Eric Adams do? Here’s what he’s accused of
Federal authorities have been scrutinizing donations to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign from people connected to the Turkish government. Sources say a new round of subpoenas delivered to Adams’ lawyers in July sought information related to his dealings with Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.
As Williams announced Thursday, investigators have been looking into whether straw donors from Turkey contributed to Adams’ mayor campaigns.
“A straw donor contributes someone else’s money, hiding the money’s illegal source, such as a foreign businessman, a corporation or a wealthy New Yorker who has already contributed the maximum amount allowed,” Williams said.
The district attorney has also been investigating whether the donations were linked to any possible pressure put on the FDNY to approve the new Turkish consulate in Midtown, despite safety concerns.
“In exchange for some of those improper benefits, he intervened in the New York City Fire Department’s inspection process for a building owned and operated by the Turkish government, allowing it to open even though it had not passed a fire inspection,” said Williams.
Other ongoing federal investigations include those of former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who since resigned, as well as Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, his brother Schools Chancellor David Banks, and David’s partner, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.
The schools chancellor announced earlier this week he will retire at the end of the year, but he insists he previously told Adams about his retirement prior to the investigations. Banks and Adams appeared together Wednesday to announce the new schools chancellor, Melissa Aviles-Ramos.
Here’s a closer look at who’s who in the various investigations.
Growing calls for Adams to resign
Since news of the indictment broke, there has been an avalanche of calls for the mayor to resign. Many of the voices are coming from members of his own political party, including those planning to run against him in next year’s Democratic primary.
Brad Lander, the current city comptroller who is running for mayor, said in part that Adams deserves due process, “however it is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges requires a significant amount of time and attention… The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down.”
Several New York City councilmembers, including Robert Holden, Tiffany Caban and Sandy Nurse, released similar statements, expressing doubt Adams can still run the city. Tiffany Caban, who called on the mayor to resign a week ago, wrote, “he is unable to effectively lead and govern. While he awaits his right to due process, he must resign.”
The mayor released a taped video message Wednesday night, saying in part, “My fellow New Yorkers, it is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes. If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies, but they would not be surprising. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target, and a target I became for months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty.”
Earlier this week, Adams was asked if he was going to resign. He rejected the idea outright and said he was looking forward to running for reelection.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul does have the ability to remove Adams from office. CBS News New York’s Political Reporter Marcia Kramer says there will be pressure on the governor to do so, because the mayor has many positions to fill due to the recent resignations, and he may have a hard time filling them under the circumstances.
A spokesperson for the governor said Wednesday night she is aware of the reports and monitoring the situation, though it would be “premature to comment further until the matter is confirmed by law enforcement.”
If Adams were to resign or be removed by the governor, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would take over on an interim basis. He would have three days to call for a special election, which would have to be held within 80 days.
