As federal investigations swirled around Eric Adams over the past year, the New York City mayor stuck to a familiar script.
“As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and cooperate fully with any type of investigation – and that is exactly what I will continue to do. do,” he said on November 9, 2023.
Three days later, Adams delivered a similar refrain: “I have not been accused of wrongdoing and will continue to cooperate with investigators.” »
And last August, as the pace of investigations picked up, the mayor said, “We’re not going to interfere with the process.” We will cooperate with the process.
But the federal indictment unsealed Thursday tells a different story. Adams and his aides failed to fully cooperate with federal investigators: They conspired to obstruct the investigation into bribery and foreign corruption in ways that ranged from clumsy to clownish, the report says. indictment.
In one case, an unidentified member of Adams’ staff agreed to an interview with FBI agents. But during the meeting, according to the indictment, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. While there, she deleted the encrypted messaging app she used to communicate with Adams and his alleged Turkish co-conspirators, prosecutors allege.
Then, on November 6, 2023, FBI agents armed with a search warrant approached the mayor after an event in Manhattan and seized his electronic devices. Adams carried two cell phones, but not the personal phone he used to communicate with his co-conspirators, according to the indictment. When he presented it the next day in response to a subpoena, he said he did not remember the new password he had created, the indictment states.
“As the federal investigation into the criminal conduct of Eric Adams, the defendant, continued, efforts to defeat that investigation continued,” the indictment states.
Today, Adams, a Democrat, is fighting for his political life. He is accused of corruption spanning nearly a decade involving Turkish businessmen and at least one government official.
Since 2015, Adams has received more than $100,000 in free or discounted plane tickets and luxury hotel rooms – as well as illegal campaign money – in exchange for carrying out his orders. benefactors, the indictment states.
He pleaded not guilty Friday to five charges, including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting a contribution from a foreign national. “It’s not even a real case,” his lawyer Alex Spiro said after the hearing.
But some political experts see no path forward for Adams, a former New York police captain who took office three years ago on a promise to fight crime and disorder in America’s largest city. UNITED STATES.
“Put a fork in it,” said Doug Muzzio, a retired Baruch College political science professor with extensive knowledge of New York politics. “It’s cooked.”
Rep. Jerry Nadler on Friday became the latest prominent New York Democrat to call on Adams to resign, joining a list that includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Nydia Velázquez.
As he attempts to stay in power, Adams also faces at least three other federal investigations and the resignations of several top officials.
False written record
The indictment alleges that Adams not only failed to disclose travel benefits he received from Turkish nationals, including free or discounted flights and upgrades to countries including India, France, China and Ghana. The mayor created a false paper trail to make it appear that he had actually paid for his trip, the indictment says.
In one instance, Adams sent an email to his planner suggesting he had paid for Turkish Airlines business class flights he took on a long trip in the summer of 2017. With a parent and a staff member, the mayor traveled to Nice, France. ; Istanbul; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Beijing, according to the indictment. A ticket alone was worth $10,000, prosecutors said.
“I left you the money for the international airline in an envelope in your cash drawer,” Adams wrote, misspelling the word drawer, according to the indictment. “Please send it to them.”
But airline records confirmed that Adams did not pay the airline, cash or otherwise, because the tickets were free, the indictment states.
“As the indictment makes clear, this was nothing more than a clumsy cover-up,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Friday.
Another episode described in the indictment illustrates an alleged attempt to cover up misconduct. In March 2019, an Adams staffer exchanged text messages with the then-Brooklyn borough president about another possible trip to Türkiye.
“As a safety precaution, please delete any messages you send to me,” the staffer wrote to Adams, according to the indictment.
“Always do it,” Adams responded, the indictment states.
These incidents occurred before the multiple investigations came to light and Adams began insisting on cooperation.
But last June, after the mayor repeatedly said he was helping investigators, another incident occurred that prosecutors say highlights efforts by Adams and his team to obstruct the investigation.
FBI agents questioned a New York businessman who prosecutors say was a straw donor – an individual who funnels someone else’s money to hide the source – for the campaign ‘Adams for mayor in 2021. The businessman then contacted Adams’ employee who asked him to make the straw donation, the indictment states.
Later that day, Adams’ employee visited the businessman at his office and told him he had just met with the mayor. The employee ordered the businessman to lie to investigators, according to the indictment. The staffer also took photos of the subpoena issued to the businessman to send to Adams, the indictment states.
The next day, Adams’ employee met with the businessman again. In a somewhat confusing admission, the staffer said that when he met with Adams the day before, they left their cell phones outside the room so it was “safe” to talk, according to the indictment.
The employee then explained that although Adams was upset that law enforcement had contacted the businessman, the mayor believed the man “would not cooperate with law enforcement,” the employee said. indictment.
“Elegant Oakey”
The sweeping criminal case marks the first time in 150 years that a sitting New York City mayor has been charged with a crime. Before Adams there was Oakey Hall.
Hall was indicted in the early 1870s during an investigation involving William “Boss” Tweed, the powerful leader of the Tammany Hall political machine. “Elegant Oakey,” as he was known, was eventually acquitted but never ran for office again, according to the Museum of the City of New York.
Adams remained defiant following the indictment, vowing to fight the charges and remain mayor.
Hours after a swarm of FBI agents showed up early Thursday at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, and again seized his phone, Adams held a news conference outside the historic estate.
He said he had been “demonized” over the past 10 months and had always followed the law.
He also appears to imply, once again, that he did everything he could to help investigators.
“When you look at all of our cooperation and our attempts to sit down and cooperate,” Adams said, “when you look at what happened, it’s a narrative of… that something inappropriate was done, and it was simply wrong.
