Feds Say Eric Adams Took Bribes From Foreign Donors

The federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been unsealed, and they go back to his days as Brooklyn borough president and focus partly on his ties to Turkey. Details:

• Adams was indicted on five charges of bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations, reports CNN.
• Prosecutors say 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," per the Washington Post. The alleged bribes go back to at least 2014, when he served as borough president, say prosecutors.
• Among other things, he allegedly received free or cheap airline tickets to Turkey, along with free meals and accommodations while there from those wealthy foreign contributors.

• "As Adam's prominence and power grew, his foreign-national benefactors sought to cash in on their corrupt relationships with him, particularly when, in 2021, it became clear that Adams would become New York City's mayor," the indictment reads, per the New York Times. "Adams agreed, providing favorable treatment in exchange for the illicit benefits he received."
• As for what Adams allegedly did in return, the Times reports on one example: "Adams as mayor pressured officials at the New York Fire Department to open a new Turkish consular building in Manhattan despite fire inspection issues." An official with the FDNY in charge of the inspection process was warned he would lose his job if he didn't go along, per the story.
• The mayor already has denied any wrongdoing. "I ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense" before passing judgment, Adams told reporters after the indictment was unsealed, per the Times and AP. "From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city." He said he wouldn't be resigning.

(More Eric Adams stories.)