Mayor Eric Adams Faces Federal Indictment

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The administration of New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been thrown into turmoil following the Mayor’s recent indictment on federal corruption charges. While Mayor Adams maintains his innocence, it is unclear whether he will be able to rebuild his leadership team and remain in office for the rest of his current term.

Mayor Adams was elected to his current post in 2021. Prior to becoming mayor, Mayor Adams served as a New York state senator and as Brooklyn borough president. Mayor Adams has a reputation as a pro-law-and-order, pro-Israel Democrat with a brash, colorful public persona who enjoys strong relationships with many of New York’s faith communities.

Over the past year, it became obvious that the federal government was investigating Mayor Adams and members of his inner circle. Federal agents stopped the Mayor on the street and confiscated his phone in November 2023, and agents later raided the homes of multiple officials within the Adams administration.

On September 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed an indictment of Mayor Adams. According to ABC News, the Mayor is the first sitting mayor of New York City to be indicted. Mayor Adams has been charged with five crimes; those crimes include bribery, wire fraud, and conspiracy. Specifically, the government alleges that the Mayor accepted free travel, discounted travel, free lodging, and luxury meals from Turkish officials and businesspeople over a period of years. Furthermore, the government charges that Mayor Adams received campaign donations from straw donors that were used to help him obtain matching funds. It is alleged that the Mayor failed to report any of these gifts. The government claims that in return for the gifts he received, Mayor Adams pushed the New York Fire Department to give a Turkish consulate permission to open despite unsafe building conditions. The government also asserts that upon request from a Turkish official, Mayor Adams refrained from making a statement commemorating Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

For his part, Mayor Adams maintains his innocence, insisting that he will remain in office[1] and continue to seek re-election in 2025. In addition, the Mayor contends that the charges against him are nothing more than retaliation from the Biden administration due to the Mayor’s outspoken disapproval of President Biden’s handling of the illegal immigration crisis that has led New York City to be flooded with an estimated 210,000 migrants since mid-2022. “‘New Yorkers know my story. They know where I come from. I have been fighting injustice my entire life. That fight has continued as your mayor,’” Mayor Adams said in a video statement. “‘I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, that I would be a target, and a target I became… I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit.’” On September 27, Gov. Adams issued a formal plea of not guilty.

On October 2, federal prosecutors stated at a court hearing that “they are pursuing ‘several related investigations’ that could expand” Mayor Adams’s case “to include more charges and co-defendants.”

Mayor Adams’s situation is complicated by the fact that the New York City Charter gives the governor of New York the authority to remove the mayor of New York City. Chapter 1, Section 9 of the New York City Charter reads as follows: “The mayor may be removed from office by the governor upon charges and after service upon him of a copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense. Pending the preparation and disposition of charges, the governor may suspend the mayor for a period not exceeding thirty days.” After Mayor Adams was indicted, Politico reported that Gov. Kathy Hochul was considering the possibility of removing him. Rather than issuing a public statement of support for the Mayor, Gov. Hochul asserted on September 26 that the charges against him were part of a “‘disturbing pattern of events.’” “‘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,’” the Governor commented.

The Mayor’s situation is further complicated by the fact that at least nine members of his senior staff have left his administration in recent weeks. A number of those individuals have been subpoenaed by the Department of Justice and/or had had their homes raided by federal agents.

Mayor Adams’s standing with other politicians and with the public has been damaged by his legal situation. According to City & State New York, as of September 27, 2024, at least 46 elected officials had called for the Mayor’s resignation. Those elected officials include Democratic U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx), Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn) and Republican U.S. Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island) and Elise Stefanik (R-Schuylerville). Also, a recent Marist poll showed that 69% of New York City residents believe that Mayor Adams should resign his post. According to the poll, only 29% of New York City voters think that the Mayor should complete his term, which expires at the end of 2025. Even Black and Hispanic voters—the population from which the Mayor has drawn much of his political support—want him to leave office; 52% of Black voters believe he should resign, and 67% of Hispanic voters agree. An overwhelming 81% of voters do not want him to run for re-election.

On the other hand, some key figures and groups are standing behind Mayor Adams for now. On September 28, Rev. Al Sharpton stated that the Mayor was entitled to due process and should not be removed from office. The Mayor has also leaned on faith communities for support, visiting several African-American churches in recent weeks; on October 1, a prayer vigil in support of Mayor Adams was held on the steps of City Hall. On October 3, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) asserted that Mayor Adams “should not resign but needed to ‘articulate to New Yorkers in a compelling way a plan and a path forward.’”

Every American who is charged with a crime—regardless of whether or not that American is an elected official—is entitled to his day in court. Nevertheless, if Mayor Eric Adams is guilty of the charges against him, he should plead guilty in court and resign from office. As Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” If, on the other hand, Mayor Adams is innocent, he should remain mayor of New York City unless and until the time and effort involved in dealing with his legal situation make it impossible for him to adequately perform the duties of his position.

[1] If Mayor Adams should vacate his position for any reason, New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would serve as acting mayor until a new mayor could be elected.

The post Mayor Eric Adams Faces Federal Indictment appeared first on New York Families Foundation.

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