DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Retired police captain becomes first sitting mayor of New York to face federal charges.
New York Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted following a federal corruption investigation, the New York Times has reported.
The indictment against Adams, one of the most powerful city leaders on the planet, is sealed and it is unclear what charges he will face, the Times reported on Wednesday, citing people with knowledge of the matter.
The investigation has focused in part on whether Adams, a retired police captain, and his campaign conspired with Turkey to receive illegal foreign donations, the Times said.
In a video released on Wednesday night, Adams denied wrongdoing.
“My fellow New Yorkers, it is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with federal crimes If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies,” he said.
“But they would not be surprises. I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you that I would be target. And a target I became.”
Lawyers for Adams did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The indictment comes after the FBI seized Adams’ electronic devices in November after agents approached the mayor and his security detail in a dramatic scene that played out on a New York city street.
A slew of top city officials, including NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Ashwin Vasan, have resigned in recent weeks amid investigations into the mayor’s inner circle.
The latest development marks a stunning fall for Adams, the son of a house cleaner and a former NYPD captain who cast himself as the city’s “first blue-collar mayor”.
After pledging to crack down on rising crime and restore New York’s “swagger” in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams coasted to victory in 2021 mayoral race to become the city’s second black mayor.
Adams, who is expected to face a tough primary in his bid for re-election in 2025, faced immediate calls to resign from many of his Democratic Party challengers, including New York City comptroller Brad Lander and former New York City comptroller Scott Stringer.
“Mayor Adams, like all New Yorkers, deserves due process, the presumption of innocence, and his day in court,” Lander said in a post X.
“However, it is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges will require a significant amount of the time and attention needed to govern this great city. The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands.”
