NYC Mayor Eric Adams First To Be Indicted In Historic Federal Probe

In a video statement published later, Adams doubled down on his position and promised not to resign. I will ask for a speedy trial so I can clear my name. New Yorkers know my story. They know where I come from. My entire life has been spent fighting injustice,” he said. As your mayor, that fight has persisted. I did, the village itself begged for help and when that call fell on deaf ears with the federal government doing nothing as its broken immigration policies broke our shelter system and no other relief was done I had to get past party and politics for our New Yorkers.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the matter. Yet sources confirmed that two of Adams’ top confidants — his lead fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and his Asian initiatives director, Winnie Greco — are to be included in the indictment.

Adams faces legal challenges, and barriers have been set up outside his official residence at Gracie Mansion as a result. When the mayor’s ex-chief of staff, Frank Carone was leaving the mansion, reporters were pushed back and he said Adams was “not at all” intiated by what had occurred.

It’s a few weeks after Adams’ administration found itself in crisis mode this fall, following September raids on city officials’ homes. Federal investigation looking at influence of mayor’s staff The July request targeted all communication between City Hall and half a dozen foreign governments — Turkey, Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.

It’s not the only time Adams has lashed out at President Joe Biden over his immigration policies, in September warning the feds were leaving New York to deal with the worst of their border crisis. In 2022 alone, more than a quarter-million migrants poured into the city, with an annual outlay of more than $500 million and a projected cost of $12 billion by 2026 from new arrivals. That Adams would demand greater federal aid has been a common refrain.

The probe into Adams’ campaign stems back to an November raid of Brianna Suggs’ home that was looking for evidence involving kickbacks linked to the Turkish government. The FBI raided Adams’ Manhattan pad in 2019 and took his phones and iPad.

Throughout the growing number of lawsuits, Adams has repeatedly denied any allegations. “[Saying] I know you are lying about me and beating your chest so much that it’s simply [not what] would be true if you were to get angry with her,” Adams said in August, when asked about the investigation.

It is the first time in 170 years that an incumbent New York City mayor has been charged with federal offenses. While former mayors like David Dinkins and Bill de Blasio have faced probes into criminality in their administrations, none were ever indicted. The most recent scandal in which a mayor resigned while still serving was in 1932, when Mayor Jimmy Walker stepped down over corruption allegations although he was never prosecuted

It wasn’t immediately clear how sweeping the federal investigation remains as Adams prepares to battle the charges, and Wednesday’s raids were only the latest in a string of recent investigations to target City Hall. No other individuals have been charged to date in connection with the continued probes.