According to sources, New York Mayor Eric Adams was charged

CNN
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New York Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with at least one federal crime, several sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The New York Times was the first to report on the charges.

The indictment follows a months-long federal investigation into campaign donations violations and foreign influence peddling. The charges against him are not currently public knowledge.

Adams has previously denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly reiterated that he told members of his campaign and administration to follow the law.

“I always knew that if I stood up for New Yorkers, I would be a target – and I have been. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight it with all my strength and determination,” Adams said Wednesday evening in response to the news.

According to sources familiar with the case, the mayor is expected to have several days to turn himself in.

Adams was at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, when news of the charges broke. He was unperturbed and determined, according to a source familiar with the situation.

CNN has reached out to attorneys for the mayor and City Hall for comment. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.

The charges are a dramatic fall from grace for the mayor of America’s largest city and a shocking accusation against one of the most important offices in the country.

Adams, a former NYPD captain, took office in January 2022 and pitched himself as the new face of the Democratic Party, promising a tough approach to crime and a commitment to revitalizing the city after the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet he has struggled to address the city’s key challenges, such as the refugee crisis and concerns about subway safety. He has also been criticized for his late-night partying and disputes over city spending, particularly on education.

Now, nearly three years into his first term, Adams faces at least one federal charge that jeopardizes his continued stay in office and threatens the future of his political career.

When asked whether he was considering resigning, Adams said Tuesday: “I will step up, not resign.”

The mayor’s legal troubles escalated in September when senior members of his staff at City Hall, including two deputy mayors, a senior adviser and the schools chancellor, received search warrants and had their cellphones seized by federal investigators.

Edward Caban, the former commissioner of the New York Police Department, also had his cellphone confiscated as part of a separate federal investigation and was forced to resign. A few days later, Lisa Zornberg, the lead attorney for City Hall and one of Adams’s most staunch defenders, abruptly resigned. In a brief, two-sentence resignation letter, Zornberg said she had concluded she could “no longer effectively perform” her position. A week later, Schools Chancellor David Banks announced he would retire at the end of the year. He resigned from his post as head of the nation’s largest public school system just days after his home was raided by federal investigators who confiscated his cellphones while executing a federal search warrant.

The first sign of trouble for Adams came nearly a year ago, when federal investigators targeted his top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and executed a search warrant on her home, several law enforcement officials previously told CNN. Suggs has not been charged with any crime.

According to sources, investigators with the FBI’s Public Corruption Unit seized phones, computers, tablets and files belonging to Suggs. Agents also executed numerous search warrants at other homes and businesses throughout the New York metropolitan area in connection with the investigation, officials said.

One of the companies raided in November 2023 was Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group, police officials said. The construction and development company has built apartments and condominiums throughout the city.

A CNN review of campaign finance records found that at least 11 employees of KSK Construction Group donated a total of $13,950 to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign, with individual contributions ranging from $1,200 to $1,500 – all on the same day. CNN has reached out to the donors for comment.

CNN also reached out to Erden Arkan, who is listed as the owner of KSK Construction Group and as a donor to the Adams campaign. New York City campaign finance records show Arkan donated $1,500.

As part of their investigation, FBI agents seized Adams’ cell phones a few days after the raid on Suggs’ home.

After Adams gave a speech in Manhattan, FBI agents “walked right up to him,” ordered his NYPD security guards to step aside, and then climbed into Adams’ city-provided SUV, sources previously told CNN. There, agents served him a search warrant to seize his electronic devices, the sources said.

The seizure led to a dramatic escalation of the federal investigation into whether foreign money flowed into his election campaign, directing the investigation directly at the Democratic mayor.

Adams has consistently maintained his innocence and insisted that he and his associates had complied with the law despite the mounting investigation.

The mayor has touted his ties to the city’s Turkish-American community, saying he has visited the country at least six or seven times.

As Brooklyn borough president, Adams traveled to Turkey at least twice. The Turkish consulate sponsored a trip in August 2015 during which he signed a sister city agreement with Istanbul’s Üsküdar district.

In light of the charges, Adams does not have to resign, although the political pressure could become unbearable. If he does resign, the post of America’s most famous mayor would go to the city’s ombudsman, Jumaane Williams, until a special election.

This is a developing story and will be updated.