New York mayor Eric Adams indicted on federal charges

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, has reportedly been indicted on federal criminal charges.

The charges were unsealed on Thursday morning, revealing he had been charged with bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.

It means that the former police captain, 64, who was elected three years ago on a platform of cutting crime, has become the first sitting New York mayor to face criminal charges.

Federal agents on Thursday morning swept into Gracie Mansions - the mayor’s official residence - in a pre-dawn raid involving nearly a dozen agents.

A lawyer for Mr Adams, Alex Spiro, issued a statement saying that the agents had come to confiscate the mayor’s phone, despite investigators seizing several of his devices last year.

“Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams’s phone (again),” Mr Spiro said in a statement.

“He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”

News of the indictment will pile pressure on the Democrat Mayor, who may appear in court later today, to step down.

However, Mr Adams on Wednesday night declared his innocence and that he would fight the expected charges.

“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” he said in a statement to The New York Times.

“If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”

‘I’ve been facing these lies for months’

In a speech recorded at his official residence, Mr Adams acknowledged that some New Yorkers would question his ability to manage the city while he fights the charges, but he vowed to stay in office.

“I have been facing these lies for months ... yet the city has continued to improve,” Mr Adams said. “Make no mistake. You elected me to lead this city and lead it I will.”

The charges against Mr Adams stem from a public corruption investigation that began in 2021 looking into allegations that the Turkish government illegally funnelled money into his election campaign.

The federal inquiry also examined whether Mr Adams pressured fire department officials to sign-off on a high-rise building for the Turkish embassy despite safety concerns, and whether the mayor received valuable flight upgrades from Turkish Airlines.

Mr Adams’ inner circle has been the target of several investigations, with agents seizing phones from senior city officials - including one of his top aides - earlier this month.

Authorities seized the mayor’s electronic devices in November last year, just days after they searched the home of his chief fundraiser.

Mr Adams has consistently maintained that he has done nothing wrong, while his aides say that he has cooperated with the authorities.

There is speculation that the indictment may prompt an exodus of more of Mr Adams’ allies, after his police commissioner, schools chancellor and health commissioner announced their resignations this month.

Earlier on Wednesday, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York representative, led calls for the beleaguered New York mayor to step down.

“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” the Democrat wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening [government] function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.

“For the good of the city, he should resign.”

Her comments were echoed by Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn who is also running for mayor against Mr. Adams.

“We need a leader who is fully focused, without distraction, on the enormous challenges we face — from housing affordability to public safety,” Mr. Myrie wrote on X. “A mayor under the weight of a serious indictment can no longer do that — and today I am calling on him to resign.”

Some allies of Mr Adams have defended him, calling for due process. Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party, said that the mayor had dedicated his life to the city and warranted a “presumption of innocence”.