NYC Mayor Eric Adams Rushes to Clear Things Up After Indictment - 'If I Am Charged, I Am Innocent'
Hours after word emerged that New York City Mayor Eric Adams was facing an indictment, federal agents arrived at Gracie Mansion, the official home of New York City’s mayors.
Agents arrived at about 6 a.m. and were inside for at least an hour, according to WABC-TV.
Adams was served with a summons and his cellphone was confiscated.
Alex Spiro, the lawyer representing Adams, said the raid was “ an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again). He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court.”
“They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in,” he said.
Multiple media reports emerged Wednesday night that Adams would face an indictment, the details of which would be shared on Thursday.
Adams responded with a pre-recorded video statement saying, “I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target – and a target I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
“I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth. New Yorkers know my story. They know where I come from. I have been fighting injustice my entire life,” Adams, who faces a hotly contested Democratic primary if he seeks re-election in 2025, said, according to the New York Post.
Multiple officials, prior to the indictment being released, have called for Adams to resign.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said in a post on X. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign.”
This is who becomes New York Mayor if Eric Adams resigns – Jumaane Williams pic.twitter.com/9UVKBXHICJ
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) September 26, 2024
Although details of the indictment were not revealed, federal investigators have been examining whether the 2021 Adams campaign received illegal foreign donations from Turkey, according to The New York Times.
The 2021 probe focused on allegations Adams put pressure on city officials to allow Turkey to open a new high-rise consulate despite safety concerns with the building.
Adams will be the first sitting New York City mayor to face federal charges.
The indictment is the latest in a string of circumstances impacting Adams and his inner circle. In 2023, six people were charged with trying to get illegal donations for the Adams campaign. Eric Ulrich, a former top adviser to Adams, faces charges of conspiracy and taking bribes.
New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned earlier this month, days after his home was part of a series of raids of top Adams associates.
Politico reported that Sept. 5 raids targeted the Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who lives with Schools Chancellor David Banks and the Queens home of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks. The New York Post reported that Terence Banks, a lobbyist who was formerly with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, was also targeted. Timothy Pearson, an aide to Adams, had his phones subpoenaed, the Post reported.
David Banks later announced he will resign at the end of the year, according to The New York Times.
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