Associated Press – (WBAP/KLIF) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on charges alleging that he took bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. Adams said at a news conference that he was not surprised by the indictments, and vowed to continue his mayoral duties.
What to know:
Adams says he won’t resign: In a speech recorded at his official residence Wednesday, Adams said he would remain in office, describing any charges he may face as “entirely false, based on lies.”
The indictment caps off an extraordinary few weeks in New York City, as federal investigators have honed in on members of Adams’ inner circle, producing a drum-beat of raids, subpoenas and high-level resignations.
Adams was defiant in his news conference, criticizing federal authorities’ handling of the investigation and denying he broke any laws “Everyone who knows me knows that I follow campaign rules and I follow the law,” he said.
The mayor said people should question the federal officials who orchestrated Thursday’s events, when asked if he believed the investigation was political. Adams failed to disclose his free and discounted travel, created a false paper trail to suggest he had paid it, claimed to a staffer that he deleted his text messages and directed the staffer to ensure his activities in Turkey in 2021 were shielded from public view, prosecutors alleged.
Adams and his co-conspirators, unnamed in the indictment, “continued their efforts to defeat scrutiny of their criminal conduct after the federal investigation into those crimes became known to them,” the indictment said.
Last November, as FBI agents knocked on her door to execute a search warrant, Adams’ fundraiser called the mayor five times and Adams later called her phone as agents were leaving her residence, the indictment said. The fundraiser refused to tell agents who paid for her 2021 travel to Turkey, the indictment said.
Adams was in Washington, D.C. at the time, but upon learning about the search, he canceled the meeting and immediately returned to New York City. A few days later, the FBI executed a search warrant for Adams’ electronic devices. According to the indictment, Adams produced two cellphones but not the personal cellphone he used in conjunction with his alleged crimes. Adams later turned over the phone in response to a subpoena, but it was locked and required a password that Adams claimed to have forgotten, the indictment said.
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