The 57-page indictment accuses Adams of five criminal counts related to contributions to the Democrat’s 2021 mayoral campaign, and other conduct going back as far as 2014, when he was Brooklyn borough president.
Much of the indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan centers on the Turkish community, Turkish businessmen and a senior Turkish government official who allegedly exerted influence on Adams, who is accused of accepting well over $100,000 in foreign travel benefits and illegal campaign donations.
“Public office is a privilege,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damien Williams at a news conference detailing the charges.
“We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law — laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power,” Williams said. “These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years.”
