Two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday night that New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges by prosecutors as early as tomorrow. The charges are unknown at this time, and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the matter.
Mr. Adams becomes the first sitting New York City mayor to face criminal charges. Adams said he would fight the charges.
Case Against Adams
One of the investigations is trying to determine whether Adams’ mayoral campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. In conjunction with this, the Brooklyn home of Adams’ chief fundraiser was the subject of an FBI raid last year. The mayor also allegedly received free flights and flight upgrades from Turkish Airlines.
There is also an investigation that is probing whether Adams pressured the city’s fire commissioner Daniel Nigro to approve a building permit for the new Turkish Consulate. The department was holding off evaluating the property due to questions about the safety of its occupancy.