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New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on federal corruption charges, including wire fraud, bribery, and accepting illegal campaign contributions.
What’s the deal: In a 57-page indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors, Mayor Adams is accused of accepting improper benefits from wealthy foreign individuals, including luxury travel and campaign contributions, in exchange for political favors. Adams is also accused of actively soliciting illegal donations for his 2021 mayoral campaign, exploiting New York City’s small-dollar donation matching program to fraudulently secure over $10 million in public funds. After becoming mayor, he allegedly continued to plan for additional illegal contributions and granted favors to supporters who provided these donations.
Digging in on Turkey: According to federal prosecutors, Mayor Adams developed a close relationship with a Turkish government official beginning in 2015, during his tenure as Brooklyn borough president. In return for luxury travel and other benefits provided by the official, Adams allegedly exerted his political influence to assist in the official’s interests. A key action involved pressuring the New York City Fire Department to approve the opening of a new Turkish consular building despite it failing a fire safety inspection at the time. Prosecutors claim that Adams went so far as to threaten a fire department official with job loss if the building was not permitted to open.
More on New York City’s donor program: New York City’s small-dollar donation matching program is designed to amplify the influence of everyday citizens in local elections by matching small contributions to political campaigns with public funds. Under this program, for every dollar donated by a city resident, the city matches it at a high ratio, often 8-to-1, up to a certain amount. This means that a $10 donation from a New Yorker could result in $80 of public funds added to the campaign, significantly boosting the impact of small contributions.
SDNY speaks: In a statement, US attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Damien Williams called Mayor Adams’s actions “a grave breach of the public’s trust.” He added, “These are bright red lines, and we alleged that the mayor crossed them again and again, for years.”
Mayor speaks out: In a statement, Mayor Adams said, “We are not surprised. We expected this. This is not surprising to us at all. The actions that have unfolded over the past 10 months — the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing — this did not surprise us that we reached this day. I ask to wait and hear our side to this narrative. From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city. My day to day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.”
