New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a press conference at City Hall after it was revealed he had received new subpoenas from a federal grand jury in New York City, August 16, 2024.
Adam Gray | Reuters
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with multiple criminal offenses in Manhattan federal court, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC on Wednesday night.
The indictment, which has not yet been made public, accuses Adams of the following criminal acts: contribution There are allegations of improper contributions to the 2021 Democratic mayoral campaign and other conduct dating back to 2015, including at least one involving a donation from a foreign person.
The indictment cites up to $20 million in donations that Adams’ campaign received as a result of the city’s matching funds program, according to sources. Campaign Finance Programs Candidates can make small donations from New York City residents, and the program will match candidates up to eight times the amount of small individual donations.
The source also said the indictment alleges Adams, 64, traveled to Turkey to receive the illegal donations.
The former police chief is at least the second New York City mayor to face criminal charges while in office.
And he is the first official from his administration to be charged as a result of multiple ongoing investigations involving the NYPD and top officials in the city’s schools.
What was previously known was Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office The committee was investigating whether Adams may have conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal donations to his campaign.
The New York Times The New York Times reported Monday that prosecutors served grand jury subpoenas in July on City Hall, Adams and his campaign seeking information about five countries: Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan.
Adams issued a defiant statement Wednesday night after news of the indictment broke.
“I am confident that the federal government intends to charge me with crimes,” Adams said in a video statement. “If so, these charges will be completely false and based on lies.”
“But they’re not surprised. I always knew if I stood up for you guys I would be a target. And I became a target.”
“If charged, I am innocent and will fight it with all my heart and soul,” said Adams, who served as a state senator and Brooklyn borough president after his police career.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI declined to comment on the indictment.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called on the mayor to resign, saying a “surge in resignations and vacancies” resulting from federal investigations into senior administration officials was “threatening the functioning of government.”
“For the good of the city, he should resign,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
As news of the indictment broke, a growing number of elected officials and politicians in New York called for Adams to resign, including city Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor next year, state Sen. Zellner Miley and former Comptroller Scott Stringer, who is considering a run for City Hall.
If Adams resigns before the end of his first term, New York City Public Attorney Jumaane Williams will become acting mayor.
New York City Mayoral Democratic candidate Eric Adams, along with New York City Public Attorney Jumaane Williams and New York City Comptroller candidate Brad Lander, raise their hands during a Get Out To The Vote (GOTV) rally in front of Brooklyn Borough Hall in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City on October 22, 2021.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
There are multiple federal investigations into Adams and people associated with him and his administration.
Tuesday, City Headmaster David Banks He told Adams he plans to retire at the end of 2024.
Banks’ surprise announcement came weeks after federal authorities seized electronic devices belonging to him, his brother, Deputy Mayor Phil Banks, and his fiancée, Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright.
Another of Banks’ brothers, Terrence, is being investigated by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s Office in connection with the distribution of millions of dollars’ worth of information to companies that received city contacts after hiring Terrence Banks’ consulting firm.
The same prosecutors also alleged that James Cavan, the twin brother of former NYPD Commissioner Edward Cavanused his brother and his connections with the NYPD to make money in the nightclub security business.
Edward Cavan resigned as police chief on September 12, one week after his cell phone was seized by federal agents.
Three days after Edward Cavan resigned, Adam’s mayoral counsel and chief legal adviser, Lisa Zornberg, resigned, saying she had “come to the conclusion that I can no longer serve in this position.”
Last Friday, federal agents executed a search warrant at the home of Interim NYPD Commissioner Thomas Donlon.
“Agents seized materials that I obtained approximately 20 years ago that are unrelated to my work with the NYPD,” Donlon, a former top FBI counterterrorism official in New York, said this week.
