New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty Friday to federal bribery charges and other counts that have roiled the nation’s biggest city after months of investigations, searches and subpoenas.
Adams, a Democrat, entered the plea before a packed courtroom gallery in Manhattan a day after prosecutors revealed charges alleging that he accepted overseas travel and illegal campaign donations from people looking to buy his influence in city government.
The mayor is accused of exploiting a yearslong relationship with people tied to Turkey, who funded his travel and fueled his run for mayor with donations that helped him qualify for more than $10 million in public campaign funds. People who aren’t U.S. citizens are banned by law from donating to U.S. political candidates.
After listening to Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker describe the charges against him, Adams said, “I am not guilty, your honor.”
He faces five counts in the indictment: wire fraud, bribery, two counts of receiving campaign contributions from a foreign national, and conspiracy. If convicted of the most serious charge, wire fraud, he faces up to 20 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia V. Cohen told the judge that prosecutors and Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, came to an agreement that would allow Adams to be released “on his own signature,” with the condition that he not contact any witnesses or individuals in the indictment, with accommodations for him to speak with members of his family and staff — but not about anything pertaining to the allegations.
Prosecutors said they would provide Spiro with the names of people Adams may not contact.
Adams, 64, is due back in court Wednesday for a conference before the case judge, Dale E. Ho. Spiro told Parker that the defense would file a motion to dismiss that day.
Before the hearing, Adams gave a thumbs up but did not pause to speak to reporters as he headed into the courthouse flanked by his police security.
The indictment unsealed Thursday accused Adams of taking a variety of improper gifts from Turkish officials and businesspeople, including free hotel stays and deeply discounted airline tickets to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, Ghana and Turkey.
In return, prosecutors said, Adams did favors for his patrons. That included helping Turkey get fire department approvals to open a new diplomatic tower in Manhattan, despite concerns about its fire safety system, prosecutors said.
Adams says he is innocent. Spiro has said it was neither unusual nor improper for a government official to accept some travel perks. The mayor has denied ever knowingly accepting an illegal campaign contribution and said any help he gave people navigating city bureaucracy was just part of doing his job.
In public remarks Thursday, Adams asked New Yorkers to avoid making any judgments until they heard his defense.
Spiro, told reporters the travel perks and seat upgrades Adams accepted were commonly offered to VIPs and members of Congress.
“That’s what airlines do,” he said, noting that many of the charges relate to trips Adams took years ago when he was Brooklyn borough president.
Adams has so far weathered calls to resign from his critics, some Republicans and the field of potential Democratic primary challengers he is expected to face in next June’s mayoral primary. The New York Times editorial board, which did not endorse Adams when he was running for mayor in 2021, has also called on him to step down, arguing that he cannot continue to effectively govern the city while he fends off his criminal charges.
Notably, top Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries have not asked Adams to resign. Both issued statements after the indictment was unsealed saying the legal process should be allowed to play out. The New York Post’s editorial board similarly said Adams should be allowed to defend himself against the charges and described some what is alleged in the indictment as “small potatoes.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has the power to remove Adams from office, also did not call on Adams to resign, but she appeared to issue a warning to a mayor she has often sought to portray as a close ally.
“While I review my options and obligations as the governor of New York, I expect the mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders,” Hochul said. “We must give New Yorkers confidence that there is steady, responsible leadership at every level of government.”
It is unclear whether Adams’ indictment is the last word on federal investigations involving the administration.
Federal prosecutors are believed to be leading multiple, separate inquiries involving Adams and his senior aides and relatives of those aides. In early September, federal investigators seized devices from the police commissioner, schools chancellor, two deputy mayors and other trusted Adams confidants.
In the last two weeks alone, the police commissioner resigned and the schools chancellor announced he would retire. Neither has been charged with a crime or been publicly accused of wrongdoing.
The mayor tried to project a sense on his daily schedule that he’s continuing to go about the city’s business. He listed meetings at 8 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. with senior city officials and staff. He also planned afternoon meetings, starting with one at 3:30 p.m. with the Mayor’s Advisory Committee on the Judiciary, a committee that screens candidates for judicial appointments — a reminder that Adams even while under indictment retains all of his official powers, including the ability to appoint certain judges.
The Lower Manhattan courthouse is less than two blocks from the one where former President Donald Trump was tried and convicted of falsifying business records, and the same court where a jury found Trump civilly liable for sexually assaulting the writer E. Jean Carroll in 1996. Other prominent cases there now include the sex trafficking case against hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.