Judge Sets Date for NYC Mayor Eric Adams’ Bribery and Corruption Trial

New York City Mayor Eric Adams exits Gracie Mansion in New York, on Sept. 26, 2024. Adams has been charged with five offenses: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, wire fraud, and bribery. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

A Manhattan judge has scheduled New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s federal trial to begin in April, just two months before next year’s Democratic primary in which Adams intends to seek reelection.

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho said during a court hearing on Nov. 1 that Adams will go to trial on April 21, 2025, a date that lands squarely amid Adams’s anticipated reelection campaign.

Adams’s attorney had asked for a March 2025 trial to conclude before the June 2025 New York City mayoral primary, citing Adams’s right to a speedy trial given the election timeline.

“The government anticipates a multi-week trial in this matter, and a trial date later than March raises the significant risk that the proceedings will not conclude before the primary process, including campaigning and fundraising,” states Adams’s attorney’s position, per an Oct. 25 court filing.

By contrast, prosecutors asked for a later timeline, proposing dates in February through May 2025 for key pre-trial hearings, which they said should “confidently allow rapid but orderly preparation for a trial that would nonetheless be completed by the June 14, 2025 date identified by the defendant.”

Prosecutors allege in an indictment that Adams, the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges, accepted over $100,000 in campaign contributions and luxury benefits from foreign nationals. The accusations involve expensive flights, hotel stays, and other gifts, which Adams allegedly accepted in exchange for political favors benefiting Turkish officials and other foreign interests.

The charges against Adams include conspiracy, wire fraud, bribery, and accepting foreign campaign contributions. Each charge carries potentially severe penalties, including fines and prison time. A conviction could also disqualify him from holding public office in the future.

To cover up the alleged bribery, Adams is accused of fabricating false financial records and instructing associates on ways to disguise illegal activities.

“Adams created and instructed others to create false paper trails, falsely suggesting that he had paid, or planned to pay, for travel benefits that were actually free,” the indictment states. Adams is also accused of deleting messages with co-conspirators, in one case assuring a collaborator that he “always” deleted her messages.

Despite the charges and mounting calls for his resignation, Adams continues his duties as mayor, urging the public to reserve judgment until his defense is heard in court.

In earlier proceedings before the trial date was set, Adams’s defense team filed a motion on Oct. 1 alleging government leaks of grand jury information. They requested a hearing to explore the extent of the alleged leaks and to determine appropriate remedies, including potential dismissal of the indictment.

In an Oct. 31 order, the judge denied Adams’s motion, stating that Adams had not provided sufficient evidence to show that government attorneys or agents disclosed grand jury matters.