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From the New York Times: Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on five federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations that prosecutors said began when he was a top elected official in Brooklyn and continued after he became mayor.
The indictment, which was unsealed on Thursday morning, follows an investigation that started in 2021 and has focused at least in part on whether he conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign campaign contributions and whether he took official actions on its behalf.
Federal prosecutors said that Mr. Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits” since at least 2014, when he was then the Brooklyn borough president, according to the indictment.
The benefits included luxury international travel — free and discounted Turkish Airlines tickets to Turkey and free meals and hotel rooms while there — from wealthy foreigners and at least one Turkish government official, prosecutors said. He traveled on the airline even when it was inconvenient, they said, including a 2017 flight to France from New York that first stopped in Istanbul.
Mr. Adams tried to hide the gifts or make them appear as if he had paid for them, according to the indictment, and also deleted messages to cover his actions. The value of the gifts exceeded $100,000, prosecutors said.
The report explains that the Turkish government wanted to open a new Turkish consular building in Manhattan.
In exchange for all the ritzy perks coming his way, Mayor Adams pressured officials at the New York Fire Department to sign off on the opening, despite fire inspection issues, and one FDNY official overseeing the building’s fire safety assessment said he was told he would be fired if he did not follow the mayor’s order.
Federal officials descended on Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, around 6:00 am Thursday morning, and reportedly took a phone from Adams.
Justice Department officials are announcing the charges against Adams Wednesday morning – WATCH BEELOW:
CLICK HERE to read the full indictment.
BREAKING NEWS: The indictment of NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been unsealed. He’s being charged with accepting “straw” donations from the Turkish government and other entities.
Essentially, they’re saying he knowingly received bad campaign contributions and they were hidden by… pic.twitter.com/yfilv52zdU
— 🇺🇸Travis🇺🇸 (@Travis_4_Trump) September 26, 2024
NEW: sources say Federal officials have arrived at Gracie mansion this morning pic.twitter.com/q0r5kozyti
— Dan Mannarino (@DanMannarino) September 26, 2024
Here’s the PDF of the Eric Adams indictment: https://t.co/N0blR7woUn
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 26, 2024
Here are the charges Eric Adams is facing in his five-count, federal indictment, annotated by The New York Times. https://t.co/Wtd5dTtTcJ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 26, 2024
Breaking News: Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has been indicted on federal charges of bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. Read the indictment and follow along live as prosecutors are set to detail the charges. https://t.co/NuD5W2s8EU
— The New York Times (@nytimes) September 26, 2024
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