Attorneys for New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday asked a federal judge to dismiss the bribery charge brought against the Democrat last week.
Adams pleaded not guilty in court on Friday for his arraignment on five federal charges, one day after the indictment was unsealed. He was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; one count of wire fraud; two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national; and one count of bribery.
Adams’ attorneys argued in a motion filed on Monday that the bribery charge failed to show an explicit quid pro quo between the mayor and Turkish officials.
“That extraordinarily vague allegation encompasses a wide array of normal and perfectly lawful acts that many City officials would undertake for the consulate of an important foreign nation,” the attorneys wrote.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams attends a press conference after he was subpoenaed by the federal grand jury at New York City Hall on August 16, 2024, in New York. Adams’ attorneys on Monday asked a judge to dismiss the bribery charge against the mayor.
Photo by YUKI IWAMURA/AFP via Getty Images
The mayor’s attorneys, who called prosecutors “zealous,” added that the indictment “does not allege that Mayor Adams agreed to perform any official act at the time that he received a benefit.”
Prosecutors accused Adams of accepting over $100,000 in undisclosed gifts such as luxury travel and hotel stays from Turkish businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official.
“This was a multi-year scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise, Eric Adams,” United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said at a press conference on Thursday.
The indictment also alleged that Adams’ campaign obtained donations through “straw” donors, individuals who claimed to donate their own money but were actually funded by wealthy businessmen. Prosecutors said this was done to circumvent the cap placed on how much money one person can donate.
“We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law, laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder and certainly not a foreign power,” Williams said. “These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years.”
Adams’ lawyers on Monday called the additional charges against Adams “equally meritless.”
Last week, Adams said he was “not surprised” after his indictment was unsealed.
“We are not surprised,” Adams said on Thursday. “We expected this. This is not surprising to us at all, the actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months, the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing.”
He also asked the public to “wait to hear our side to this narrative.”
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
