New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The indictment, unsealed on Thursday morning, said the charges go back to when he was Brooklyn Borough President.
At a news conference in front of Gracie Mansion mid-morning on Thursday, the mayor said he will not resign.
“My day to day will not change,” he said, standing before a group of supporters who he described as men and women of clergy.
The mayor emphasized that there will be no change in running city government, noting there were over 300,000 dedicated civil servants who will continue to work.
"The point person is Eric Adams," he added.
The 57-page indictment, from the United States District Court Southern District of New York, said the mayor for nearly a decade since 2014, sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish govermnent official seeking to gain influence over him.
While he was the borough president, Adams travelled to Turkey in 2015 and established "corrupt relationships," the indictment said.
In addition, the mayor sought and accepted straw donations, a practice prohibited by federal law in which the original source of a political contribution is hidden from the public, according to the indictment.
The mayor said he was not surprised to be at this point, after many months of leaks and commentary about him and his administration.
"Over the last ten months, you knew information before my attorneys did," Adams said about the frequent leaks about the federal investigation. "Everyone who knows me knows that I follow campaign rules and I follow the law. That is how I live my life."
“I ask New Yorkers to wait and hear our defense before making any judgments,” he said.
The mayor left the press conference to chants of "Resign! Resign!"
