Instead of attending his usual weekly press conference where he fields questions from reporters, Mayor Eric Adams delivered a closed-door address today that was live streamed to the public, after the Department of Justice issued an order yesterday evening to federal prosecutors at the Southern District of New York directing them drop their federal corruption case against him. The mayor’s statement was largely a proclamation of innocence in following the DOJ’s directive, telling New Yorkers that “we can put this cruel episode behind us.”
Early on in his message to New Yorkers, Adams sought to set the record straight on the “many sensational and false claims” that he says were made against him throughout the federal investigation. “I never asked anyone to break the law on my behalf or on behalf of my campaign. Never,” he stated, pausing for emphasis. “And I absolutely never traded my power as an elected official for any personal benefit.” In the SDNY indictment against Adams filed last September, prosecutors alleged that Adams had accepted lavish gifts from individuals representing the interests of the state of Turkiye, taking severely discounted first-class trips to the country over many years, valued at over $120,000. The document alleges that Adams fast-tracked the opening of a Turkish consular building, the Turkevi center, despite it not passing inspection from the Department of Buildings or the Fire Department. Shortly before opening, an exterior glass panel fell 30 stories off the side of the building on to the sidewalk, fortunately not injuring any pedestrians.
The mayor also stated that “no witness ever came forward publicly to make claims” against him. While a dozen officials in his inner circle had their homes raided last fall and resigned with no further action from authorities, some did face charges related to those against Adams. Former mayoral aide Mohamed Bahi and Turkish-American businessman Erden Erkan have both pleaded guilty on charges related to the case against the Adams, standing accused of engaging in straw donor schemes that funneled illegal funds to his mayoral campaign in 2021. Their guilty pleas raised questions about whether they intended to comply with authorities on their case against the mayor, however the SDNY has declined to comment to La Voce on the status of the cases against Bahi and Arkan.
While Adams was technically correct when he stated that “the case will no longer continue,” there are strings attached. According to the memo issued by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, Adams “must agree in writing to dismissal without prejudice,” a condition which could allow for its revival at a later date, perhaps after the November 2025 mayoral elections, when Bove indicates that “the matter shall be reviewed by the confirmed U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.” Bove’s memo indicates that the charges are being dropped not based on the merits of the investigation, but rather because of “increasing prejudicial pretrial publicity that risks impacting potential witnesses and the jury pool” and concerns over “Mayor Adams’ ability to support critical, ongoing federal efforts ‘to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement,’ as described in Executive Order 14165.1.”
Adams thanked Trump’s Justice Department with what could be described as the highest possible praise, likening their grace to that of the Divine as he quoted scripture. “Psalms 34 1: ‘I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth,” the mayor said. “So I thank the Justice Department for its honesty.”
