• 2 months ago
Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly denied wrongdoing as he faced a federal investigation.

Adams claims he’s being persecuted by the feds speaking out against NYC’s migrant crisis.

New York’s City Hall. Mayor Eric Adams is the first sitting mayor to face a federal indictment in the city’s history.

Adams’ top campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs also faces charges in the foreign influence case — one of several federal probes swirling around the mayor and his inner circle.

Now-former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban (center) and top Adams aide Tim Pearson (right) are targets of federal probe.

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Transcript
00:00news.
00:01Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on charges connected to a federal probe,
00:06sources told The Post, as the defiant mayor claimed he was being persecuted by the federal
00:10government for speaking about the city's migrant crisis.
00:13The historic indictment the first for a sitting New York City mayor is expected to be unsealed
00:18Thursday by U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, according to the sources.
00:21The news was first reported by The New York Times.
00:25Adams will surrender to authorities early next week, sources said.
00:28I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target and a
00:32target, I became Adams said in a statement to The Post.
00:36If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength
00:39and spirit.
00:41In a video statement released later, Adams said he wouldn't step down and pledge to fight
00:45these injustices with every ounce of my strength and spirit.
00:48I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth.
00:52New Yorkers know my story.
00:53They know where I come from.
00:55I have been fighting injustice my entire life, he continued.
00:58That fight is continued as your mayor.
01:00Despite our police, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies
01:04overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party
01:09and politics.
01:10A rep for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting
01:14the case, declined to comment.
01:17Sources told The Post that two others- Adams' top campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs and
01:21his director of Asian affairs Winnie Greco- are expected to be named in the indictment.
01:25At least three others are also expected to be charged, however, The Post could not immediately
01:29confirm their identities.
01:32Following news of the indictment, cops set up barriers outside Gracie Mansion, the mayor's
01:36home, and forced reporters back from the house.
01:39Details about the exact accusations remained unclear, but are believed to be connected
01:43to allegations of the Turkish government illegally funneling money into his mayoral campaign
01:47in exchange for approval of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan, according to sources.
01:52It's also uncertain how the indictment is related to a sweeping set of September 4 raids
01:56that targeted several high-profile Adams administration officials, which sent City Hall into a week's
02:01long tailspin, as news reports emerged of investigations focused on alleged corruption
02:05by the mayor's inner circle.
02:07By Wednesday morning, word had spread that a senior City Hall official soon would be
02:11indicted, sending staff into a panic throughout the day, insiders said.
02:15The indictment's unveiling will come after federal prosecutors recently demanded City
02:19Hall cough up all communications between the Adams administration, Turkey and five other
02:23foreign countries, amid the long-running probe.
02:26Adams' 2021 campaign had previously been served with subpoenas for information on its campaign
02:31donations, specifically those that had ties to Turkey, sources told The Post.
02:36Sprawling record requests then came in a July batch of subpoenas seeking details on all
02:40interactions between admin officials in Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan,
02:45the sources added.
02:46Adams, City Hall and his election committee were also hit with grand jury subpoenas that
02:50same month with the feds obtaining text messages, documents and other communications and materials.
02:56Adams has been a vocal critic on the Biden administration's soft immigration policies,
03:01as the Big Apple was flooded with more than 250,000 migrants since 2022, accusing the
03:06federal government of leaving New York to fend for itself.
03:09The national government has turned its back on New York City, he said early 2023.
03:14He also said the White House needs to appoint a person who would dedicate it to a decompression
03:18strategy at the border.
03:20The migrant crisis is expected to cost the city upwards of $12 billion by 2026, and Adams
03:25has repeatedly pleaded for Washington to provide more funds to Gotham.
03:30I am lost.
03:31I am confused on this topic on why we still, almost 20 months later, we're still talking
03:35about this issue, and it is inundated the city Adams told Fox 5 in December 2023.
03:41The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York had remained tight-lipped
03:44about the probe ever since it burst into view last November, with a dramatic raid on top
03:48Adams fundraiser Brianna Sugg's Brooklyn home.
03:52The raid which sought evidence of straw-donor kickbacks by the Turkish government and the
03:55Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group into Adams' mayoral campaign
04:00prompted hisner to scurry back from a much-publicized White House meeting on the migrant crisis.
04:05The feds subsequently raided the homes of City Hall staffer Rana Abasova and Senkosal,
04:10a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on Adams' transition team.
04:14The raid which sought evidence of straw-donor kickbacks by the Turkish government and the
04:17Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group into Adams' mayoral campaign
04:22prompted hisner to scurry back from a much-publicized White House meeting on the migrant crisis.
04:28The feds subsequently raided the homes of City Hall staffer Rana Abasova and Senkosal,
04:32a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on Adams' transition team.

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