New York Mayor Eric Adams charged with bribery, fraud and soliciting foreign donations The Democrat, who says he will not resign, reportedly received money for his campaign from five countries and at least one Turkish government official New York Mayor Eric Adams was officially indicted on Thursday with five charges related to bribery, wire fraud and soliciting contributions from foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official to fund his mayoral campaign in 2021. That same year, the FBI opened an investigation into these campaign contributions. In exchange for these funds, the Democrat allegedly expedited the permits for the new headquarters of the Turkish consulate in New York, and granted other requests.
For a decade, Adams sought and accepted “valuable improper benefits,” including luxury international travel , from foreign businesspeople and a senior Turkish official who sought “to gain influence over him,” states the indictment, which was unsealed Thursday morning. Indeed, Adams’ pressure on the city’s Fire Department expedited the occupancy permit for the consulate, a brand-new skyscraper that was suspected of several security breaches, the indictment says. The indictment alleges that Adams accepted illegal contributions to his campaign in 2018, when he announced his plans to run for mayor.
These contributions were made by straw donors — including an unknown Turkish university with a campus in Washington — and foreign agents, accordi.