New York City Mayor Eric Adams pleaded not guilty on Friday to five counts connected to a sprawling investigation into local government corruption.
Adams, a former police officer and borough president, entered his pleas in front of US Magistrate Katharine Parker. He had been indicted on bribery and wire fraud for allegedly asking for campaign contributions from overseas.
Parker released Adams on his own recognisance and ordered him not to connect or come in contact with anyone involved in the indictments or the case.
Adams’s attorney Alex Spiro told Parker that he will be filing a motion to dismiss on Wednesday, Adams’s next court date.
“This case isn’t even a real case,” Spiro said afterward, according to NBC News. “This is the airline upgrade corruption case.”
Adams defended himself at Gracie Mansion, the official resident of the mayor, before the hearing.
“I follow the rules, I follow the law,” Adams said Friday. “I do not do anything that’s going to participate in illegal campaign activity.”
Adams, 64, was indicted by the federal government on five charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal programme bribery and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; wire fraud; bribery and two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
The 57-page indictment lists 23 specific “overt acts” related to just the conspiracy charges alone.
Adams has said for months during the course of the investigation that leaks and rumors have been aimed at him in an attempt to undermine his credibility and paint him as guilty.
The sprawling indictment outlines how Adams allegedly sought and accepted improper gifts over several years beginning at least in 2016, including luxury travel totaling more than 100 000 and illegal foreign campaign contributions including from a government official in Turkey.
In November last year, FBI agents seized a phone and an iPad belonging to Adams in a federal campaign fundraising investigation.
Adams has maintained his innocence and vowed to fight charges with “every ounce of my strength and spirit” as he faces a slew of calls even from Democrats for him to resign.
On Thursday, Adams said to “wait to hear our defense before making any judgments.”
He is the first sitting mayor of New York to be indicted on federal charges. Of 110 mayors since 1665, only two have ever resigned. If convicted on all five counts Adams could face up to 45 years in prison. And if he resigns would be the first city leader since 1950 to step down from the mayor’s office.
In such a case, Adams would be replaced by the city’s elected Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams. Elected New York’s Public Advocate in 2018, Williams, 48, would then have three days to call a special election within 80 days, according to the city charter.
However, under state law the governor also has the power to remove Adams.
Governor Kathy Hochul on Thursday called it “an extraordinarily difficult day” for the city, adding that Adams’ indictment was “the latest in a disturbing pattern of events” that has “contributed to a sense of unease” for city residents.
“My focus is on protecting the people of New York and ensuring stability in the City,” Hochul said in a statement.
“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,” she added. (UPI)
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