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Attorneys for New York Mayor Eric Adams on Monday requested that a federal judge dismiss the bribery charge included in the federal indictment against him. Adams was charged last week with five criminal counts, including bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national. Adams pleaded not guilty on Friday, pledging to fight the charges and stay on as mayor. He is the first sitting mayor of New York City to face criminal charges in the modern era.
Federal prosecutors accused Adams of accepting more than $100,000 in airline upgrades and luxury hotel stays from Turkish nationals and at least one government official, in exchange for political favor. Adams allegedly pressured the New York City Fire Department to rush a safety inspection of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan.
In the 25-page court filing, Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro stated that the allegations included in the indictment are “extraordinarily vague” and brought by “zealous prosecutors who spent years casting about for something to support a criminal case against” the mayor.
Spiro stated that prosecutors fell short in showing that the mayor accepted bribes when he allegedly pressured the New York Fire Department to allow a Turkish consulate building to open despite serious safety concerns, noting: “The indictment in this case alleges a ‘bribery’ scheme that does not meet the definition of bribery and indeed does not amount to a federal crime at all. The zealous prosecutors who secured the indictment would have alleged that kind of specific agreement if they had any evidence to support it. But they do not, and they know that Adams never entered into any such agreement.” Spiro further noted that the allegations against the mayor “encompasses a wide array of normal and perfectly lawful acts that any City official would undertake for the consulate of an important foreign nation.”
Spiro added that the other four counts against Adams should be dismissed; meanwhile, Adams is due back in court on Wednesday.
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