Impeached New York mayor vows to stay in office | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

NEW YORK — New York Mayor Eric Adams vowed Thursday to stay in office after federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment accusing him of allowing Turkish officials and businessmen to buy his influence through illegal campaign contributions and lavish foreign trips.

Adams, a Democrat, faces conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in a five-count indictment that outlines a decade of corruption that began when he served as an elected official in Brooklyn and continued throughout his mayoral administration.

Prosecutors said, among other things, Adams received free and deeply discounted flight upgrades valued at more than $100,000, free stays in lavish hotel suites and expensive meals, as well as campaign contributions from straw donors, some of which helped him earn more than $10 million . in matching public campaign funds.

“I want to be clear, these upgrades and freebies were not part of some frequent flyer or benefit program offered to the general public,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a news conference. he said. “This was a multi-year plan to buy favors from a single rising New York City official.”

According to the indictment, in exchange for bribes, Adams took actions that appeared to benefit leaders in Turkey, including expediting fire safety inspections at the consulate building and failing to issue a statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

The US attorney said Adams had a duty to disclose the gifts he received, but “leaves the public in the dark” every year.

Speaking outside Gracie Mansion, Adams denied wrongdoing and said he had no plans to resign. Adams, the city’s second Black mayor, attacked federal prosecutors alongside prominent Black clergy and suggested he was unfairly targeted.

“I ask New Yorkers to hear our defense before making any decisions,” he said. “From here, my lawyers will handle the case, so I can take care of the city.”

Adams’ arraignment was scheduled for noon Friday before Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker.

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The indictment dramatically accelerated the pace of federal investigations that have engulfed the mayor and his top aides in recent weeks and led to the resignations of the police commissioner, school president and general counsel.

While Adams faces calls to resign from Republicans and some potential rivals in next June’s mayoral primary, prominent New York Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have stopped short of asking him to step down instead. He said that legal regulations will be made. The process must work.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has the authority to remove Adams from office. He said in a statement on Thursday that he was weighing his options. “I expect the Mayor to spend the next few days reviewing the situation and finding an appropriate way to ensure that the people of New York City are well served by their leaders.”

If Adams were to resign, he would be immediately replaced by progressive Democrat Jumaane Williams, who serves as the city’s public defender. Williams would later schedule a special election. In a statement Thursday, Williams said Adams is “quickly running out of time” to show he can effectively lead and regain the city’s trust.

Before entering politics, Adams spent 22 years with the New York City Police Department; It was a largely ceremonial position, first as a state senator and then as Brooklyn borough president, but it gave him a springboard to run for mayor in 2021.

DETAILED BEHAVIOR

FBI agents first seized Adams’ electronic devices about a year ago as part of an investigation that focused on his campaign contributions while mayor as well as his interactions with the Turkish government and Turkish American business. Since then, he has been asked repeatedly at press conferences about his trips around the world and who paid for them.

Adams said nothing bad happened on his trips and that he never did anything inappropriate in exchange for campaign money.

But prosecutors allege that Adams sought and accepted illegal contributions to his campaign through an unnamed official in the Turkish diplomatic corps. The indictment alleges that the official provided Adams and his friends with free or discounted travel opportunities with Turkey’s national airline to destinations such as France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary and Turkey.

In addition, Adams is accused of soliciting donations from foreign officials who are prohibited by law from donating to U.S. political candidates, and then “increasing his earnings” by gaming the city’s matching funds program, which provides a generous match for small dollars Prosecutors allege the donations were made. According to the indictment, his campaign received a total of more than $10 million in public funds available only to candidates who play by the rules.

According to prosecutors, in September 2021, a Turkish official told Adams that it was time to repay contributions and assistance by pressuring the fire department to facilitate the opening of the consulate without fire inspection, in time for the visit of the Turkish president. This request would have been made several months before Adams took office, but after it became clear he would become mayor.

Even after a fire official warned that major defects in the consulate building made it “unsafe to occupy,” Adams pushed security guards to allow the building to open. The indictment stated that Adams conveyed the news of the approval to the Turkish official days later and described Adams as a “true friend of Turkey”. According to the indictment, Adams responded: “You’re my brother. I’m ready to help.”

A few months later, the Turkish official texted an Adams employee with another request: That the mayor “not make any statements about the Armenian Genocide” before Memorial Day in April, according to the indictment. Staff confirmed Adams wouldn’t mention it, but he didn’t mention it either. The Turkish government denies that the killing of approximately 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 qualifies as genocide.

Prosecutors allege that Adams sometimes created false paper trails and instructed others to do so to falsely suggest that he had paid for travel benefits that were actually free. He also deleted messages with other abusers, and at one point assured his accomplice that he “always” deleted her text messages, according to the indictment.

His attorney, Alex Spiro, argued that the conduct described in the charges either did not involve the mayor or was not illegal, noting that free flights were often given to politicians. He said Adams was responding to a “courtesy” request from a Turkish official who wanted to expedite a fire inspection at a new consulate. “New Yorkers do this all the time,” Spiro added.

The charges were made public just hours after FBI agents entered the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion, early Thursday and seized his phone.

US attorney Williams said the corruption investigation will continue.

Federal prosecutors are believed to be pursuing multiple separate investigations into Adams and his top aides, relatives of those aides, campaign donations and possible influence peddling by the police and fire departments.

In the last two weeks alone, the police commissioner and school rector have resigned. Neither has been charged with a crime or publicly accused of committing a crime. In early September, federal investigators seized devices from the police commissioner, the school president, two vice mayors and other people trusted by Adams.

Information for this article was provided by Aron Ranen of the Associated Press.