The has set a high bar for prosecutors to prove , so it’s difficult to predict how even the most shocking allegations against politicians will turn out in court. But one thing that may help the government in the newly unsealed case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams is the almost absurd collection of cover-up type behavior . “Fake paper trails” and deleted messages are among such alleged evidence that wants to be in a position of having to explain away, even if it’s the prosecution that has the burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial while the defendant has no burden.
Indeed, such evidence can help the government clear that properly steep hurdle. Adams, who is presumed innocent like any defendant, confronts this evidence in an indictment that alleges the former New York City police officer “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him.” The alleged fake paper trails — again, really not something anyone wants to have to explain — arise in part of the indictment that claims Adams “created and instructed others to create fake paper trails, falsely suggesting that he had paid, or planned to pay, for travel benefits that were actually free.
” For example, prosecutors allege that Adams “attempted to create a fake paper trail suggesting he had paid for his 2017 flights on the Tu.
