Embattled New York City (NYC) Mayor Eric Adams could face more charges after his indictment for bribery.
Federal prosecutors insinuated this during an Oct. 2 hearing at a federal courtroom in Lower Manhattan. They reiterated the serious criminal charges against Adams, 64, spelled out in his indictment the week prior.
During the same hearing, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho of the District Court for the Southern District of New York declined to set a trial date for Adams. Ho, an appointee of President Joe Biden, essentially rejected a request by Adams' lawyer Alex Spiro to hold the trial in March of next year.
According to the Epoch Times, Adams' indictment "sets forth a long and detailed history of corruption on [his] part from several stages of his political career going back to 2014. Various allegations in the indictment date to his time as Brooklyn borough president, as an NYC mayoral candidate and as NYC mayor."
"According to the indictment, Adams allegedly received donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign from 'straw' donors who, on paper, were making legal donations. [In reality, the 'straw' donors] were actually acting as proxies funneling money from foreign donors – in violation of campaign finance laws. The mayor [also] allegedly made improper use of an NYC matching funds program to rake in an additional $10 million in campaign funds in 2021." (Related: NYC Mayor Adams INDICTED in federal corruption probe.)
The beleaguered mayor pleaded not guilty and vowed to fight the charges. During a Sept. 26 press conference, Adams exhorted New Yorkers not to jump to conclusions until his side of the story has been heard.
Despite his attempts to assuage the public, Adams' political future is uncertain. Political observers have questioned whether it is possible or desirable for the mayor to remain in office.
Indictment reveals Ankara's help in putting Adams at City Hall
Aside from the campaign finance fraud charges, Adams has also pleaded not guilty to having accepted bribes from Turkey. These bribes came in the form of free first-class airline travel, free meals and hotel accommodations and other perks from a representative of Ankara.
The bribes in exchange for political favors were given to Adams after he was elected as mayor. He did not disclose these contributions on filings he was legally required to make as an employee of the city.
In return for the rewards he received, Adams used his political power and influence on behalf of representatives of the Turkish government. These foreign agents sought to have the Turkevi Center built in time for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who opened the 36-story building in 2021.
But to accomplish this, the foreign actors reportedly pressured Adams to pull strings to allow its opening – even though the structure had not undergone a fire inspection as required by law. Had an inspection been conducted, the Turkevi Center's numerous fire safety violations would have come to light.
Adams and people in his circle allegedly went to considerable lengths to cover up the bribery, the indictment said. In some instances, he even paid a nominal fee to create the appearance that he had paid for travel – but did not disclose the steep discount he had received.
"Adams created and instructed others to create false paper trails, falsely suggesting that he had paid, or planned to pay, for travel benefits that were actually free. [He also] deleted messages with others involved in his misconduct including, in one instance, assuring a co-conspirator in writing that he 'always' deleted her messages."
One passage in the indictment recounted a text exchange between a staffer for the mayor and an airline manager. The staffer openly attempted to revise upward a fee for a flight upgrade because "his every step is being watched." Per the exchange, the $50 fee the airline manager proposed was not high enough to convince people that Adams wasn't receiving special favors.
"The scandal around the alleged wrongdoing has escalated since the indictment's unsealing, with some prominent figures in New York politics calling for the mayor to resign," the Epoch Times remarked.
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