What’s in the 5-point indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams?

CNN
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The indictment unsealed Thursday morning against New York City Mayor Eric Adams alleges that he secretly solicited and accepted promotional gifts and illegal campaign contributions from wealthy foreigners, including Turkish officials, as early as 2014.

In return, he pressured the New York Fire Department to approve the opening of a new Turkish consulate building in the city without a fire inspection, the indictment says. In addition, his campaign used these illegal campaign contributions to “steal public funds” through New York City matching funds, the indictment says.

These allegations are at the heart of the federal indictment, which charges Adams with five counts: bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy and two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals.

Adams, a Democrat elected in 2021, has denied wrongdoing and said he has no plans to resign.

“I look forward to defending myself and the people of this city, as I have done throughout my professional career,” Adams said.

CNN reviewed the 57-page, 15,000-word indictment to understand some of its key points. Overall, the indictment lays out what Adams allegedly received from and gave to foreign nationals, his efforts to conceal his conduct, and the specific allegations that prosecutors want to prove.

For nearly a decade, Adams sought and accepted benefits such as free luxury trips and campaign contributions from foreign businessmen, the indictment says.

Between 2016 and October 2023, he is said to have committed 23 different “overt acts,” including accepting free flights and hotel rooms and coordinating straw donations.

Prosecutors say the foreign nationals were able to circumvent federal laws and hide their campaign contributions through these “straw donors” – U.S.-based donors who falsely claimed they were contributing their own money.

The indictment details free tickets and upgrades to business class on international flights for the mayor and his staff. He allegedly accepted free stays at “opulent” hotels, meals at upscale restaurants and other “luxurious entertainment during his stay in Turkey.”

In 2017, Adams reportedly accepted free business class tickets on three round-trip international flights as well as a heavily discounted stay in a suite at the St. Regis Istanbul. The trip was worth more than $41,000 and Adams did not disclose the amount, the indictment says.

Adams reportedly accepted luxury travel benefits worth over $123,000 between 2016 and 2021 without disclosing any of it.

In 2018, the mayor allegedly “not only accepted but also demanded illegal campaign donations for his 2021 mayoral campaign and other valuable items from foreigners.”

By January 2022, he agreed to accept foreign donations for his 2025 election campaign, the indictment says.

In exchange for luxury trips and other benefits from Turkish officials, Adams allegedly pressured the New York City Fire Department to open a Turkish consulate building without a fire inspection in time for a high-profile visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

In September 2021, a Turkish official told the mayor “it was his turn to pay back,” the indictment says.

The officer asked Adams to pressure the FDNY to “allow the opening of a new Turkish consular building without a fire inspection,” the indictment says.

Court documents show that the building would have failed an FDNY inspection at the time – after inspecting the building, an FDNY employee described the building as having “some serious problems.”

Adams pleaded with the FDNY commissioner to approve the construction, prosecutors say. That day, the FDNY department chief allegedly told the fire marshal that both would lose their jobs if they didn’t help get the building certified.

The prevention director then drafted “a conditional letter of no objection” to the issuance of the certificate, which did not follow standard FDNY procedure, the indictment says.

After Adams intervened, the skyscraper finally opened as Turkish officials requested, court documents say.

CNN has reached out to the Turkish House of Representatives and the FDNY.

The indictment alleges that Adams and his co-conspirators, including an unnamed “Adams associate,” attempted to hide their conduct from the public by allegedly creating fake paper trails, deleting messages and changing his phone password.

“As described above, Adams repeatedly failed to disclose the free and heavily discounted travel benefits he accepted from the Turkish official, the operator and the airline manager; created a false paper trail suggesting that he had paid for this trip when in fact he had not; assured the Adams employee that he was in the habit of deleting all of his messages with the Adams employee; and directed the Adams employee to ensure that his activities in Turkey remained shielded from public view during 2021,” the indictment states.

Adams and others took steps to conceal the scheme even after learning of the federal investigation last November, prosecutors allege.

“Serious breach of public trust”: US attorney indicts New York mayor

In one case, during an interview with investigators, an Adams employee went to the bathroom and deleted encrypted messaging apps that she had used to communicate with Adams and others, the indictment says.

Another case allegedly involved the passcode on Adams’ personal cell phone.

When investigators executed a search warrant for Adams’ electronic devices on Nov. 6, he did not have his personal phone with him, the indictment says. He turned it over to investigators the next day in response to a subpoena, but it was “locked” and required a password, the indictment says. Adams said he changed the password a day earlier “to prevent his employees from accidentally or intentionally deleting the contents of his phone,” the indictment says.

He then claimed he had forgotten the new password, prosecutors allege.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Adams faces a total of five counts that are punishable by up to 45 years in prison.

The most serious charge is wire fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. The indictment stems from allegations that Adams stole from the City of New York’s matching funds program. Designed to “give New Yorkers a greater voice in elections,” the program matches donations from city residents with public funds but prohibits the use of “straw donations,” according to the indictment. The program requires candidates to certify compliance with campaign finance regulations.

The indictment not only accuses Adams of receiving illegal campaign contributions, but he also allegedly subsequently used eight of those illegal donations to apply for matching funds, receiving up to $2,000 for each illegal donation. His campaign then falsely certified compliance, the indictment says.

“My everyday life will not change”: New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks after the indictment

The indictment does not list the total amount of related public funds he allegedly received directly from the eight illegal straw donations. According to the indictment, Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign ultimately received more than $10 million in public funds from the city’s matching funds program.

Bribery is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. This charge relates to the alleged consideration of receiving luxury travel benefits from the Turkish official in return for forcing approval from the Turkish House of Representatives, the indictment states.

The two cases of soliciting campaign donations from foreigners are each punishable by up to five years in prison. One of the charges is based on allegations from 2021, the other on allegations from 2023.

Finally, there is a conspiracy charge, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. This indictment accuses Adams “and other persons, known and unknown,” of agreeing to commit federal crimes, including wire fraud; Soliciting, accepting and receiving a campaign contribution; and bribery. The indictment lists 23 specific “overt acts” in furtherance of the conspiracy.