New York City Mayor Eric Adams made history in the worst way. Adams, 64, becomes the first sitting NY mayor to be indicted in a federal corruption investigation.
The indictment against Adams could be unsealed on Thursday, Sept. 26.
Adams, who is New York City’s 110th mayor, was indicted by the same Southern District of New York prosecutor who charged music mogul Sean Combs with sex trafficking on Sept. 16.
Several of Adams’ staffers, including Lisa Zornberg, Adams’s chief counsel, resigned abruptly this month.
Lawmakers called for Adams to step down amid the pending indictment.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign” she added.
In a videotaped statement on Wednesday night, Adams said he is being targeted by the federal government for political reasons.
“It is now my belief that the federal government intends to charge me with federal crimes,” Adams said. “If so, these charges will be entirely false, based on lies.”
Last year, the mayor’s phones – and his staffers’ phones – were seized by federal agents in an investigation into ties between his campaign and the Turkish government. Federal agents also searched the home of Adams’ campaign worker, Brianna Suggs.
The feds are probing whether Adams and his top officials were paid by local businesses in exchange for political favors.
In his statement, Adams claimed that his duty to New Yorkers is what led to his indictment.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you that I would become a target, and a target I became,” he said.
“Make no mistake,” Adams added, “you elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”
If Adams steps down, the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, would take over as interim mayor. Williams called Adams’ criminal charges “incredibly serious.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, stopped short of calling for Adams to resign.
“Governor Hochul is aware of these concerning news reports and is monitoring the situation,” her press secretary, Avi Small, said, as Hochul recovers from cancer treatment.
Hochul has the power to remove Adams from office if he is arrested and remanded to federal custody.
In an unrelated lawsuit filed last year, Adams is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in 1993.
The lawsuit was filed before the Adult Survivors Act expired last year. The woman is seeking $5 million, according to The NY Post.
