NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrives for arraignment on federal indictment
Updated on: September 27, 2024 / 10:03 AM EDT / CBS New York
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has arrived to be processed and then arraigned on federal bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance charges Friday.
Prosecutors allege he abused his power for nearly a decade, putting the interests of foreign nationals above those of his own constituents.
Adams denied the accusations laid out in a sprawling 57-page indictment Thursday, maintaining his innocence and saying he is ready to fight the charges in court.
"I follow the rules, I follow the law. I do not do anything that's going to participate in illegal campaign activity," he said in a news conference outside Gracie Mansion.
The mayor left Gracie Mansion on Friday morning and arrived at the courthouse around 8:45 a.m., flashing a thumbs-up to reporters gathered outside. His arraignment is scheduled for 12 p.m., when he will be processed and read his rights before entering a plea.
Adams is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be indicted on federal charges. If convicted on all five counts, he faces up to 45 year in prison.
CBS News New York has team coverage at the Pearl Street courthouse in Manhattan, including reporter Alice Gainer, who also covered the Sean "Diddy" Combs arraignment there just last week, and former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's arraignment on federal bribery charges exactly one year ago.
Local News
NYC Mayor Eric Adams arrives for arraignment on federal indictment
By Christina Fan, Natalie Duddridge
Updated on: September 27, 2024 / 10:03 AM EDT / CBS New York
NEW YORK -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams has arrived to be processed and then arraigned on federal bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance charges Friday.
Prosecutors allege he abused his power for nearly a decade, putting the interests of foreign nationals above those of his own constituents.
Adams denied the accusations laid out in a sprawling 57-page indictment Thursday, maintaining his innocence and saying he is ready to fight the charges in court.
"I follow the rules, I follow the law. I do not do anything that's going to participate in illegal campaign activity," he said in a news conference outside Gracie Mansion.
The mayor left Gracie Mansion on Friday morning and arrived at the courthouse around 8:45 a.m., flashing a thumbs-up to reporters gathered outside. His arraignment is scheduled for 12 p.m., when he will be processed and read his rights before entering a plea.
Adams is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be indicted on federal charges. If convicted on all five counts, he faces up to 45 year in prison.
CBS News New York has team coverage at the Pearl Street courthouse in Manhattan, including reporter Alice Gainer, who also covered the Sean "Diddy" Combs arraignment there just last week, and former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez's arraignment on federal bribery charges exactly one year ago.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams indictment unsealed
NYC Mayor Investigations
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, speaks at a news conference detailing an indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York.
Julia Demaree Nikhinson / AP
The indictment accuses the mayor of seeking and accepting improper gifts, like luxury travel and illegal campaign contributions from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official since he was Brooklyn borough president. His alleged undisclosed travel dates back to 2016, totaling more than $100,000.
"Year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark, he told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them," said U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.
Prosecutors say illegal campaign contributions came in through straw donors -- people who contribute someone else's money to hide the illegal source. In return for the illicit benefits, Adams is accused of using his influence to pressure the FDNY to open a new high-rise housing Turkey's consulate in Manhattan, despite safety concerns.
"Laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power," Williams said.
The indictment also detailed how the mayor allegedly tried to hide their criminal conduct, saying his campaign fundraiser "called Adams five times" while the FBI was at her door with a search warrant. According to the indictment, she then spoke to FBI agents but "refused to say who paid for her 2021 travel to Turkey."
Prosecutors say another staffer agreed to speak to the FBI but then "excused herself to a bathroom and, while there, deleted the encrypted messaging applications she had used to communicate with the mayor."