A grand jury has indicted New York City's mayor, Eric Adams, on five criminal counts in a federal corruption probe.
The retired police captain is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be indicted while in office.
A sweeping 57-page indictment, unsealed on Thursday, accuses Adams, a Democrat, of soliciting bribes, including $100,000 worth of luxury international travel, from wealthy foreign businesspeople, including at least one Turkish government official who was "seeking to gain influence over him" for nearly a decade.
And they were successful, prosecutors say.
In exchange for those bribes, prosecutors say Adams pressured government officials into approving paperwork for the Turkish House, a Manhattan skyscraper that houses Turkey's consulate. He also agreed not to make statements about the Armenian genocide, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors also accuse Adams of knowingly seeking illegal campaign contributions from corporations and foreign nationals.
Here are the five counts Adams is facing:
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals
- Wire fraud
- Solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national (two counts)
- Bribery
During a press conference, Damian Williams, the US attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Adams broke "laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power."
"These are bright red lines, and we allege the mayor crossed them again and again for years," Williams said.
Adams has declared his innocence and ignored calls to resign following the bombshell news of his indictment.
If convicted, Adams could face 45 years behind bars.
