New York City Mayor Eric Adams is indicted for a campaign contribution scheme and other crimes after a federal corruption investigation which was unsealed on Thursday morning. It happened when the FBI raided his Gracie Mansion and seized his phone, within some hours of investigation Eric Adams got indicted.
After the investigation, The 57 page indictment in Manhattan Federal Court accuses Eric Adams for criminal conduct related to contributions to the Mayoral campaign of Democrat in 2021. And other conduct goes as far back as 2014, when he was Brooklyn borough president.
Eric Adams
NYC Mayor Eric Adams is a retired police captain who promised to the city’s people that he’ll reduce crime when he was elected three years ago. And now, he has been indicted after a federal corruption investigation.
After this indictment there were raised many questions about his ability to serve as mayor. In the history of modern New York City, he is the first mayor to be charged while in office.
Eric Adams Statement after the Indictment
Eric Adams said in a statement that “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that would be a target – and a target I became.” He also stated that, “If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
Most of the indictment on Eric Adams centers towards the Turkish community and Turkish business who allegedly exerted influence on him, and the alleged criminal counts include conspiracy to commit bribery,wire fraud,bribery and contributions by a foreign national.
What The Indictment Says About Eric Adams?
The indictment says that Eric Adams, a 64 years old former police captain, received more than 10 million$ in public matching funds as campaign contributions by using so-called straw donors to hide the fact that he was accepting foreign campaign contributions in the United States.
The indictment states that it was started in 2014 and thereafter for nearly a decade, Eric Adams sought and accepted improper valuable benefits such as luxurious international travel which includes wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official was trying gain influence over him.”
“In 2018, Eric Adams was known for his plans to run for New York City Mayor. He not only accepted but sought illegal campaign contributions for his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other valuable things from foreign nationals. As Eric Adams’ prominence and power grew, the foreign nationals who were getting benefits from him sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him. Particularly in 2021, it became clear that Eric Adams would become New York City’s Mayor.”
“Adam agreed to provide favorable treatment in exchange for the illegal benefits he received. After Adams inauguration as New York City’s Mayor, he soon began preparation for his next election, this preparation included planning to solicit more illegal contributions and granting requests from those who supported his 2021 mayoral campaign with donations.”
Who will be the next Mayor If Adams Resigns ?
The city comptroller, Brad Lander who is running for mayor said that,”the most appropriate path forward for him is to step down so that New Yorkers can get the full focus on its leadership demands.” Even before the report of the indictment on Wednesday 25th September, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said he should resign for the good of the city.
Until the details of the indictment are known, which was supposed to be unsealed at a press conference on Thursday at 11:30 AM in Manhattan. There are many people who are keeping their options open by not giving any statement for Adams’s resignation. Some of them are: Gov. Kathy Hochul; Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the House Democratic leader who has known him for decades.
If Adams resigned, Jumaane Williams who is the city’s public advocate would become the acting mayor. He has been a critic of the current mayor and has cast doubt on Eric Adams’s ability to govern amid the swirl of investigations. Under the city charter, an acting mayor gets three days to set the date for a special election to choose a new mayor.
Till now, no public advocate has become acting mayor before – the job was not created until 1993. Only two mayors have resigned in the past – Jimmy Walker in 1932 and William O’Dwyer in 1950, both resigned after corruption scandals.
The F.B.I’s Investigation
In 2023’s November, the FBI seized Eric Adams’s electronic devices. Boyd Johnson, a lawyer for the mayor, said that at that time Adams had not been accused of wrongdoing and had “immediately complied with the request of F.B.I” for the electronic devices, and a few days later those were returned to the mayor.
Four Federal corruption investigations have sent Adams;s administration into free fall, and come under scrutiny with some of the highest-ranking officials in City Hall. One investigation appears to center on a possible bribery scheme of a consulting company which run by Terence Banks, David Banks, a brother of Philip Banks Ⅲ and the deputy mayor for public safety who announced his resignation as schools chancellor on Tuesday.
The Federal Agents have also seized the phone of the deputy mayor, David Banks’s fiance, Sheen Wright in connection with that investigation.
A separate investigation also involves Edward Caban who resigned as police commissioner days after federal agents had seized his phone and also his chief of staff. The Agents also seized the phones which belonged to the commanders of two precincts in Queens.
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