Eric Adams Charged With 5 Counts In Campaign Finance and Foreign Influence Scheme
The monumental and highly-anticipated indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams was unsealed on Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after it was announced Adams would face five criminal counts.
According to the indictment, Adams has spent the last decade since being elected Brooklyn Borough President in 2014 seeking and accepting, “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.”
The indictment continues:
By 2018, ADAMS — who had by then made known his plans to run for Mayor of New York City –not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals. 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. ADAMS agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits received. After his inauguration as Mayor of New York City, ADAMS soon began preparing for his next election, including by planning to solicit more illegal contributions and granting requests from those who supported his 2021 mayoral campaign with such donations.
Adams has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals, one count of wire fraud, one count of bribery, and two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
According to prosecutors, Adams sought an accepted illegal “straw” contributions to his political campaigns that concealed the true identity of his donors.
“By smuggling their contributions to ADAMS through U.S.-based straw donors, ADAMS’ s overseas contributors defeated federal laws that serve to prevent foreign influence on U.S. elections. Wealthy individuals evaded laws designed to limit their power over elected officials by restricting the amount any one person can donate to a candidate. And businesses circumvented New York City’s ban on corporate contributions by funneling their donations through multiple employees, frustrating a law that seeks to reduce corporate power in politics,” reads the indictment. “ADAMS increased his fundraising by accepting these concealed, illegal donations-at the cost of giving his secret patrons the undue influence over him that the law tries to prevent.”
The indictment also charges Adams with defrauding New York City, stealing public funds, and accepting improper gifts from a Turkish official. In exchange for those gifts, Adams allegedly pressured the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) “to facilitate the opening of a new Turkish consular building-a 36-story skyscraper without a fire inspection, in time for a high-profile visit by Turkey’s president. ”
Adams is accused of doing as he was “instructed,” and threatening an FDNY official’s livelihood to get him comply with the Turkish government’s wishes. Prosecutors say the building “would have failed” an inspection.
On Wednesday, after it was announced that Adams would face criminal charges, the mayor released a video statement in which he said “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,” he continued. “For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty. Just this past week, they searched the home of our new police commissioner, looking for documents from 20 years ago. Just one week after he joined my administration. Enough! I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit.”
