New York Mayor Adams Seeks to Dismiss Bribery Count

New York Mayor Eric Adams listens during a briefing on security preparations ahead of former President Donald Trump's arrival in New York City on April 3, 2023. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Attorneys for New York Mayor Eric Adams have urged a federal court to dismiss one of the five criminal charges brought against him this past week.

In a motion filed on Sept. 30, Adams’s legal team argued for the dismissal of a bribery charge, claiming that the mayor did not take bribes from the Turkish government while allegedly pressuring the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) to fast-track the opening of a 36-story Turkish Consulate in Manhattan.

“Despite the fact that the indictment reproduces quotes from messages, emails, and conversations for numerous other points, it does not allege any specific exchanges or conversations in which Adams and the Turkish official entered into this purported quid pro quo agreement,” his legal team wrote.

They further argued that at the time of the alleged incident, Adams was only the Brooklyn borough president and lacked the power to compel the FDNY to take action concerning the consular building.

Adams’s attorneys also pointed to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that raised the bar for federal prosecutors to pursue corruption cases. That 6–3 ruling held that a federal law prohibiting government officials from “corruptly” accepting “anything of value of any person” in exchange for an official act does not extend to “gratuities” or gifts—such as luxury trips—that are given for past actions.

“Even the three dissenting Justices agreed that the statute requires an official act,” they wrote.

The defense further claimed that the remaining counts in the five-charge indictment against Adams—that he solicited and accepted foreign donations and abused the city’s taxpayer-funded matching funds program—are “equally meritless.”

The 25-page motion was filed four days after federal prosecutors accused Adams, as de facto mayor-elect, of pressuring the FDNY to rush to open the Turkish consular building without a fire inspection in September 2021 in return for receiving free or discounted travel perks, which his attorneys described as “gratuities” that would fall outside the scope of federal anti-corruption laws.

The historic indictment—the first for a sitting New York City mayor in the modern era, included email and text messages suggesting that Adams attempted to cover his tracks. One involves Adams allegedly trying to fabricate a paper trail to claim he reimbursed an aide for airplane tickets, even though there was no initial payment to reimburse.

Adams is also accused of accepting bribes and illegal “straw campaign” donations from Turkish officials and businesspeople for years, dating back to his time as Brooklyn borough president and continuing through his 2021 mayoral race. These donations, the prosecutors claim, allowed the Adams campaign to receive more than $10 million in matching funds fraudulently from the city.

The first-term mayor has pleaded not guilty to all five charges and has resisted mounting calls to resign following the indictment.

“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target—and a target I became,” he said in a statement before his federal criminal charges were unsealed. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”

Should Adams step down or be removed by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, he would be replaced by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, is next in line after Williams.

The next hearing in the case, which has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Dale Ho of the Southern District of New York, is set for Oct. 2.