New York (CNN) — New York City’s embattled mayor pleaded not guilty Friday to federal corruption charges after prosecutors accused him of using his power and influence to garner free trips, luxury hotel stays and questionable campaign donations.
Mayor Eric Adams is charged with bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals.
“I am not guilty, your honor,” Adams said in a Lower Manhattan federal court Friday.
Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker allowed Adams to be released after the hearing – but with caveats. The mayor cannot have contact with anyone involved in the allegations in the indictment.
Aside from that, the mayor can still maintain routine business contacts and communicate with family members. The judge also allowed Adams to keep his passport.
Adams’ appearance in court as a defendant is a stark contrast from his work fighting crime as an NYPD captain – a job he often touted during his political career.
The mayor, a Democrat elected in 2021, has denied wrongdoing and said he doesn’t plan to resign. “I look forward to defending myself and defending the people of this city as I’ve done throughout my entire professional career,” Adams said Thursday.
What the mayor is accused of
Between 2016 and October 2023, Adams sought and accepted benefits such as free luxury travel and campaign donations from foreigners, including Turkish officials, according to a 57-page, 15,000-word indictment.
In exchange, he pressured the Fire Department of New York to approve the opening of a new Turkish consular building in the city without a fire inspection, the indictment states. In addition, his campaign used those illegal campaign donations to “steal public funds” through New York City’s matching funds, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said the foreign nationals were able to sidestep federal law and conceal their campaign donations through these “straw donors” – US-based donors who falsely claimed they were contributing their own money.
In 2017, Adams allegedly accepted free business class tickets for three roundtrip international flights and a heavily discounted stay at a suite in the St. Regis Istanbul. The trip was worth over $41,000, and Adams did not disclose it, the indictment alleges.
Adams allegedly accepted over $123,000 worth of luxury travel benefits between 2016 and 2021, without disclosing any of it.
By 2018, the mayor allegedly “not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals.”
By January 2022, he had agreed to accept contributions of foreign money to his 2025 campaign, the indictment alleges.
‘This isn’t even a real case,’ attorney says
Shortly after Friday’s arraignment, some of his supporters outside the courthouse shouted, “Mayor, I love you!” Adams gave a thumbs up and did not speak.
But his attorney was outspoken about what he called a case without merit.
“There are no emails, text messages, or any corroboration whatsoever that the mayor knew about anything having to do with these campaign donations,” attorney Alex Spiro said.
“This isn’t even a real case,” Spiro said. “This is the airline upgrade corruption case.”
Spiro said he would be filing a motion to dismiss the case and expected the charges to be dismissed because he said the case relies solely on one questionable staffer.
Adams’ aide subponed
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a close aide to Adams who has worked with the mayor long before he was elected, received a subpoena on Friday after returning from a vacation in Japan, a source familiar with the case told CNN.
Investigators from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office met Lewis-Martin at the airport as she was entering US customs. They served her with a search warrant and seized her two cell phones, the source said.
At the same time, other investigators from the DA’s office executed a search warrant at her home, looking for additional electronic devices.
As Lewis-Martin left the airport, she was approached by two investigators from the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who presented her with a separate grand jury subpoena, the source added.
It is unclear if the investigation is related to Adams’ case. A spokesperson for the DA’s office declined to comment.
In her first public comments, Lewis-Martin said she and the mayor have done nothing wrong.
“We are imperfect, but we are not thieves,” Lewis-Martin said during a live broadcast of attorney Arthur Aidala’s morning radio show. Aidala is representing her. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Lewis-Martin also addressed her involvement in the investigation directly. “I don’t know anything. I’ve done nothing. And I don’t think that there’s anything to know,” she said.
CNN has reached out to Lewis-Martin for comment.
Governor mulls removing Adams from office
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s team is telling allies and other stakeholders that she is now seriously considering the possibility of removing Adams from office – a power she has under state law.
A source briefed on the governor’s thinking told CNN that Hochul has increasingly come to view the Adams situation as “untenable.” But no decision has been announced.
Before Adams’ indictment was unsealed, Hochul reportedly hadn’t considered removing the mayor. But after reviewing the indictment, the governor suggested in a statement late Thursday that she was leaving her options open.
“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 said.
Lawyers in the governor’s office have started to look over the legal language of the removal authority, another source familiar with the situation told CNN.
Though many local lawmakers have called for Adams to resign, some high profile New York Democrats in Congress have been less vocal. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer both stopped short of calling for Adams to step down in their most recent remarks.
“No one is above the law, including the Mayor of New York City,” Schumer said in a written statement Thursday. “The charges are serious, and the legal process should now play out speedily and fairly.”
But Jeffries could come under pressure from New York House candidates concerned the Adams scandal might hurt their prospects for election.
Adams is “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” Jeffries said, and “a jury of the Mayor’s peers will now evaluate the charges in the indictment and ultimately render a determination.”
Hochul and Adams have had a good working relationship. Both of them have partnered on public safety issues – including crime on the city’s subways, which are controlled by the state. The relationship is a significant improvement from years past, when former New York City mayors and governors have openly feuded over city policies and funding.
Sharpton will host a meeting about Adams
Longtime political activist the Rev. Al Sharpton had been expected to meet with the city’s Black leaders this weekend to discuss the political fallout from Adam’s five-count federal indictment. The meeting is now expected to happen next week, Sharpton said.
Sharpton called on Hochul Saturday not to use her authority to remove Adams from office, citing the mayor’s right to due process and a clear lack of political precedent.
“The governor should not be pressured into removing Eric Adams from being the mayor,” Sharpton said during his regularly scheduled National Action Network rally in Harlem.
Sharpton is aware of the many “complexities” of the Adams situation and wants to examine all the possibilities, a source said. He is also concerned about the impact the ordeal will have on the city, the source said.
Community representatives and lawmakers are expected to attend the meeting but Jeffries will not, Andy Eichar, a spokesperson for Jeffries, told CNN.
Jeffries and Adams have a lot in common, including their humble backgrounds and bare-knuckle campaign styles. But while sources say the two New Yorkers have mutual respect for each other, the pair have never been close.
The congressman realizes that calling for the mayor’s resignation would “imply a sense of guilt” – and that’s not something he would do or take lightly, according to a person familiar with Jeffries’ thinking.
What kind of punishment Adams could face
For now, the mayor can’t go to work at city hall. Adams’ next court appearance before a district judge is scheduled for Wednesday.
If convicted on all charges, Adams could face up to 45 years in prison, according to the US Attorney’s Office.
The most serious charge is wire fraud, which comes with a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. That charge stems from allegations that Adams stole from New York City’s matching funds program.
The program is designed “to give New Yorkers a greater voice in elections,” and matches donations from city residents with public funds. But it prohibits the use of straw donations, according to the indictment. The program requires candidates to certify compliance with campaign finance regulations.
The indictment alleges Adams not only received illegal campaign contributions, but he then allegedly used eight of those improper donations to apply for matching funds and obtained as much as $2,000 for each illegal contribution. His campaign then falsely certified compliance, the indictment states.
The indictment does not total the amount of matching public funds Adams allegedly received directly from the eight illegal straw donations. Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign ultimately received more than $10 million in public funds from the city’s matching funds program, according to the indictment.
Bribery is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. That charge relates to the alleged quid-pro-quo of receiving luxury travel benefits from a Turkish official in exchange for pushing the approval of the Turkish House – a center for Turkish diplomatic missions in New York City, the indictment states.
The two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals are each punishable by up to 5 years in prison. One of the charges is based on allegations in 2021 and the other is based on allegations in 2023.
Finally, there is a conspiracy charge, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. That charge alleges Adams “and others known and unknown” agreed to commit federal offenses, including wire fraud; soliciting, accepting and receiving a campaign contribution; and bribery.
This story has been updated with additional information.
The-CNN-Wire
