New York Mayor Charged with Accepting Bribes and Illegal Donations

(Patria) - New York Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with accepting bribes and illegally soliciting campaign donations from a foreign national, according to the indictment.

Adams faces five criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit fraud, Hina reports.

Prosecutors said he sought and accepted benefits, including luxury travel, from wealthy foreign businessmen and Turkish government officials who intended to gain influence over him.

Federal agents searched the mayor's residence, Gracie Mansion, on Manhattan's Upper East Side yesterday.

A black SUV with the inscription "Federal Police" was parked in front of the house, a witness told Reuters.

Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, accused the authorities of trying to "create a spectacle" and said the mayor's phone had been seized.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which filed the charges, declined to comment on the case.

Adams, a Democrat, became the first of New York's 110 mayors to be criminally charged while in office.

In a video message Wednesday evening, he said he expected the charges and that they would be "entirely wrong, based on lies."

Adams vowed to remain in office while proving his innocence, ignoring calls from Democratic politicians to step down.

"If I am charged, I know I am innocent. I will demand an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth," Adams stated.

The case will likely further complicate any attempt by Adams to be re-elected in 2025.

Before news of the indictment emerged, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also a Democrat, became the first member of Congress to call on him to resign, saying it would be "in the best interest of the city."

The Times, citing a search warrant for the apartment, reported in early November 2023 that federal authorities were investigating the possibility that illegal donations, including from the Turkish government, were received for Adams' 2021 election campaign.

The investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan focused on whether Adams' election campaign conspired with a Brooklyn construction company to illegally receive foreign money through it, the Times wrote.

Authorities also sought information about Adams' ties to Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan, according to the Times.

Adams, 64, a former police officer who rose to the rank of captain, has repeatedly denied committing any crime and said he is cooperating with investigators.

"New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, has the authority to remove Adams from office, but the process is complicated," said Bennett Gershman, a professor at Pace University School of Law in Manhattan.