Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, appears in court to answer to charges of corruption

While calls for his resignation from inside his own party are growing, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, appeared in court on Friday to face federal allegations of receiving bribes and illicit campaign contributions from Turkish nationals.

Shortly before 9 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT), Adams, 64, gave reporters a thumbs up as he entered the federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan. He will most likely be asked to enter a plea when he appears before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker at 12 p.m.

Adams vowed to defend the charges in court and denied any wrongdoing.
During a press conference on Thursday, Adams declared, “I will continue to do my job as mayor.”

Federal prosecutors said in an indictment returned by a grand jury on Tuesday and released on Thursday that Turkish businessmen and diplomats had illegally provided money to Adams’ campaign in exchange for lavish travel benefits like dinners at exclusive restaurants and accommodations in five-star hotels.

Prosecutors claim that in exchange, Adams put pressure on city officials in 2021 to approve the opening of Turkey’s new 36-story consulate despite security concerns.

Prosecutors noted that the alleged plot began in 2014, the year Adams was elected president of the Brooklyn Borough Council. Prosecutors claimed that the unlawful political contributions contributed to his 2021 mayoral candidacy.

If convicted guilty of all five criminal accusations, the Democrat could spend decades behind bars.

Requests for comment were not answered by Turkey’s president’s office, foreign ministry, or Washington embassy.

Out of the 110 mayors of the city, Adams, a former police officer who attained the rank of captain, is the only to face a federal criminal accusation while in office.

For the past month, the biggest city in the US has been experiencing political unrest due to federal investigations involving high-ranking officials.

The FBI confiscated the police commissioner’s phone, leading to his resignation on September 12. A few days later, Adams’ principal legal counsel resigned.

Adams has been urged to step down by a number of well-known politicians and local authorities, including U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

However, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, two influential Democratic senators from Brooklyn, did not go far enough.

Democratic governor of New York Kathy Hochul could remove Adams from office, but professor Bennett Gershman of Pace University Law School said the process is convoluted.

In a statement released on Thursday, Hochul declared that she will “review my options and obligations as the governor of New York.”

“I expect the mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders,” Hochul stated.

“ISTANBUL IS ALWAYS THE FIRST STOP”

In the indictment, it is stated that while acting as the president of the Brooklyn Borough President, Adams got free travel from a Turkish airline valued at tens of thousands of dollars. He also paid $600 for a two-night stay in a luxurious suite at the St. Regis hotel in Istanbul, which was far less than the $7, 000 actual cost.

Adams would board the Turkish plane even if it meant inconvenience, according to the prosecution. “You know first stop is always Istanbul,” he replied to his partner in a 2017 text conversation after she expressed shock that they would be passing via Istanbul on their route from New York to Paris.

According to the indictment, Adams used U.S. citizens to conceal campaign funds from Turkish sources for his mayoral race in 2021. The indictment states that Adams was able to obtain an extra $10 million in public financing as a result of those monies. Foreign donations to American political campaigns are prohibited by US law.

Adams, according to the prosecution, addressed Turkish concerns.

Adams, responding to a request from a Turkish ambassador, exerted pressure on municipal safety inspectors to permit the country’s new consulate to open in time for Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s visit in September 2021, despite the fact that the establishment would not have passed a fire inspection, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors claim that a senior Fire Department officer threatened to fire a subordinate for not allowing the embassy to operate after receiving frequent messages from Adams regarding the facility.

According to the prosecution, Adams informed the diplomat when the Fire Department gave the building permission to operate later that day.

“You are Turkey’s true friend,” the ambassador is said to have said.