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New York Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted amid federal corruption investigations into his administration, according to the New York Times. The indictment remains sealed and it is unclear what Adams has been charged with.
The Times reported:
The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. But when they are made public, he will become the first New York City mayor to be criminally charged while in office.
The indictment promised to reverberate across the nation’s largest city and beyond, plunging Mr. Adams’s embattled administration further into chaos just months before he is set to face challengers in a hotly contested mayoral primary.
Representatives of Mr. Adams and his campaign said they had no immediate comment.
Adams, a former police captain with the NYPD, is the first incumbent mayor of the city to be indicted. After word of the indictment broke, he issued a statement professing his innocence.
“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. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
Citing sources familiar with the indictment, The City reported on Wednesday that Adams is “being charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for taking actions in his official capacity as mayor after receiving donations from foreign sources.”
The FBI seized his electronic devices in November in an apparent escalation of a probe examining whether he conspired to enrich Turkish government officials. News of the indictment came after a spate of resignations.
New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned amid his own scandal involving his twin brother. The city’s school chancellor David Banks – a longtime friend of Adams – also plans to resign after his electronic devices were seized in connection with a federal bribery investigation. City Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan also plans to resign. Earlier this month, Adam’s chief counsel Lisa Zornberg called it quits as well.
The investigations into Adams first came to light last November when the FBI raided the home of Brianna Suggs, who was Adams’ chief fundraiser.
Adams, a Democrat who is serving his first term as mayor, was already expected to draw plenty of challengers in June’s primary.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Adams to resign.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” she tweeted. If Adams does step down, city public advocate Jumaane Williams would become acting mayor and would have three days to set a date for a special election.
This is a developing story.
