The indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams was unsealed Thursday. The charges include conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery involving the acceptance of millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions and bribes from foreign nationals.
The unsealed indictment states, “In 2014, Eric Adams, the defendant, became Brooklyn Borough President. Thereafter, for nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted 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."
“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 he received,” the indictment reads.
The indictment describes a scheme to help fund Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign in which he allegedly accepted free hotel rooms, flights with the Turkish national airline, and meals at high-end restaurants.
Adams is further accused of accepting "straw donations” from a senior Turkish diplomatic official and using these to secure free or discounted flights to places around the world, including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, and Turkey. He allegedly created fake paper trails to create the impression that these trips were legally paid for.
US Attorney of the Southern District of New York Damien Williams accused Adams of pressuring the FDNY to allow the opening of a Turkish consulate in Manhattan despite the fact that the building had not passed the necessary fire safety inspection.
"A particular Turkish government official... gave Adams all of these things to gain influence over him, we allege that Adams knew that and took the benefits anyway," Williams said. "We allege that... Adams took corrupt official action in exchange for some of the luxury travel benefits."
Adams has dismissed the charges as “entirely false" and "based on lies” and vowed to remain in office. He claimed that he has been "targeted" for criticizing the Biden-Harris Administration's handling of the illegal migrant crisis.