New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a judge on Monday to set an earlier trial date in his federal corruption case next year, arguing the current date would impede Adams’ participation in his mayoral reelection campaign, according to court documents. In a letter to the court, Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, requested the trial to begin weeks earlier on April 1, rather than later that month. Spiro said the current late-May conclusion of the trial would take place one month before ballots are cast in the Democratic primary and sideline Adams "for the vast majority of his remaining reelection campaign, during many of the most important moments.
” “An earlier trial date will ensure that Mayor Adams’s speedy trial rights are upheld, that the Mayor will be able to fully participate in his reelection campaign and that this City’s voters can be rid of the distraction of this misguided indictment as they hear from and evaluate the Democratic candidates for Mayor on their merits,” said Spiro. He added that the prosecution will “cast a cloud” over Adams’ campaign until it’s resolved by a New York jury at trial. The tough-on-crime former NYPD captain pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges in September after he was hit with five criminal counts, including bribery, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.
Adams pledged to fight the charges and stay on as mayor. Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that Adams accep.