AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Earlier today, under a tent in the rain, the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, defended himself against new federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting foreign campaign contributions.
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ERIC ADAMS: It's an unfortunate day, and it's a painful day.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Yes.
ADAMS: But inside of all of that, it's a day where we will finally reveal why, for 10 months, I have gone through this.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
About 10 months ago was when the FBI seized the mayor's phones and iPad. A few days earlier, it had raided the homes of three people on the same day - Adams' chief fundraiser, a staffer who worked with the city's Turkish community and a former Turkish Airlines executive.
CHANG: That was early November. In late October, Adams had boasted about his close ties with Turkey.
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ADAMS: And I'm probably the only mayor in the history of this city that has not only visited Turkey, Turkiye, once, but I think I'm on my sixth or seventh visit.
SUMMERS: Among other things, federal authorities were investigating whether Adams had received illegal campaign donations and luxury travel benefits from Turkish citizens and companies. The investigation had started in 2021, but now it was picking up steam.
CHANG: Over the winter, the home of another Adams' adviser was searched. In July, prosecutors filed subpoenas for documents on the mayor's travel and campaign donations.
SUMMERS: And over the past three weeks, several top city officials have resigned, including the police commissioner and the schools chancellor. These resignations appear related to separate federal investigations, though, they have thrown city government into disarray.
CHANG: And that brings us to today's indictment. Eric Adams has become the first sitting mayor of New York City to be charged with a crime. A growing number of local council members and other leaders are calling for him to step down. Here with more is Elizabeth Kim from member station WNYC. Hi, Liz.
ELIZABETH KIM, BYLINE: Hi.
CHANG: Hi. OK, let's first lay out the specific charges against Adams. What is he being accused of exactly?
KIM: Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is accusing the mayor of accepting bribes and illegal donations from foreign donors, specifically Turkish government officials. Here's how he characterized the alleged crimes at his press conference.
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DAMIAN WILLIAMS: As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations. As we allege, Mayor Adams took these contributions, even though he knew they were illegal.
KIM: So some examples he gave were the mayor helping Turkish officials steer these illegal donations to his campaign and also disguising those donations. He also says that the mayor accepted gifts in the form of business class flights so that he could travel around the world to places like Turkey, China, Ghana and France, for example. He also accepted a stay at a luxury hotel suite. And in return, prosecutors say that the mayor helped the Turkish government by fast-tracking fire inspections. That way, they can open up a Turkish consulate in New York City in time for a visit from President Erdogan.
CHANG: OK, so several allegations there. How has Mayor Adams responded to these charges?
KIM: The mayor has denied that he's done anything illegal, and he has said that he's not stepping down. Here's some of what he said at a press conference this morning.
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ADAMS: This is not surprising to us at all. The actions that have unfolded over the last 10 months...
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Yeah.
ADAMS: ...The leaks, the commentary.
KIM: You hear the mayor's defiant tone there and how he's trying to frame the indictment as part of a conspiracy against him. The mayor has suggested, without evidence, that he's being targeted because he criticized President Biden's handling of the migrant crisis. Of course, these two men are Democrats. Who once appeared to have a very warm relationship. But they've since kept their distance from one another after the border crisis drove a wedge between them.
CHANG: And, Liz, this is potentially the first of several indictments, right?
KIM: That's right, Ailsa. The U.S. attorney said at the end of his presentation that this is still an ongoing investigation, and he was encouraging people to come forward. Now, this is often sort of a statement that they give at the end of every indictment. But to many experts, that signaled that there could be more charges on the horizon. There are at least three other ongoing investigations, and some of those involve members of the mayor's inner circle - people who go back decades with the mayor. So it's unclear at this point whether those could tie back to the mayor and whether all of these four investigations could be linked in some way.
CHANG: That is Elizabeth Kim from WNYC. Thank you so much, Liz.
KIM: Thanks, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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