New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) faces five charges of bribery, fraud, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday morning.
For at least a decade as the Brooklyn borough president, Adams "sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him," federal prosecutors said in the indictment.
Adams was indicted Wednesday evening following a federal corruption investigation. FBI agents searched the mayor’s official residence, Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side, Thursday morning, the New York Times reported.
The indictment follows a yearslong federal investigation into whether Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign illegally received donations from Turkish sources, and whether the mayor pressured the city’s fire department officials to expedite the opening of a Turkish government-backed building in Manhattan despite safety concerns.
On the day Adams was elected mayor in 2021, one Turkish businessman and associate of the mayor texted another associate, saying he would "talk to our elders in Ankara about how we can turn this into an advantage for our country’s lobby," according to the indictment.
Adams was "showered" with gifts that he knew to be illegal but "kept the public in the dark" for many years, Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said at a Thursday press conference.
"Federal law clearly prohibits foreign donations," Williams said. "That is how we protect our elections from foreign influence."
Adams, the first mayor in New York City history to be indicted while in office, called the accusations against him "entirely false" and "based on lies" in a recorded speech late Wednesday.
"I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target—and a target I became," Adams added. "I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit."
The FBI’s investigation of Adams became public in November 2023, when federal agents raided the homes of his chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs and international affairs aide Rana Abbasova.
Adams had his electronic devices temporarily seized by investigators in November and received a grand jury subpoena in July.
In February, authorities searched the Bronx residence of Winnie Greco, the mayor’s senior adviser and director of Asian affairs. Subsequent raids targeted several high-profile Adams officials, including Sheena Wright, the city’s first deputy mayor, and Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety.
The mayor has faced growing calls to step down, including from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) on Wednesday.
"I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City. The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function," the far-left "Squad" member wrote in an X post, referring to a string of top Adams officials who had resigned this month before news of the indictment broke.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal, is considering running for the city’s mayor, according to two individuals familiar with the matter, Axios reported Thursday.