news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

[text/observer network lin chenli] according to reports from cnn, the new york times and other media, on the 27th local time, eric adams, the mayor of new york city, who has been suspected of “corruption for many years”, he appeared in federal court in the southern district of new york and pleaded not guilty to five federal criminal charges including bribery, wire fraud and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign citizens.

according to the federal indictment released on the 26th local time, adams faces a total of five federal criminal charges, including wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting campaign donations from foreign citizens. prosecutors said adams repeatedly crossed "clear red lines" under the law, secretly accepting illegal donations to his 2021 campaign and receiving gifts and benefits from foreign businessmen and officials.

in response to all the above charges, adams said in the federal court of the southern district of new york on the 27th local time: "your honor, i am not guilty."

u.s. district judge katherine parker allowed adams to be released after the hearing, with the added condition that adams have no contact with anyone charged in the indictment. in addition, adams can still maintain daily business contacts and communicate with his family, and the judge also allowed adams to keep his passport.

after the hearing, adams' attorney, spiro, spoke outside the courthouse and reiterated adams' claim that he was the victim of a "targeted investigation." spiro told the media that the charges were based on assertions by a staff member in adams' office who "wrongly implicated adams." he played down the seriousness of the charges and said he expected they would be dropped.

adams stood silently as supporters and onlookers chanted, then boarded a black suv with his attorney and sped off.

on the 26th local time, adams held a press conference to strongly deny the above-mentioned accusations, saying that he had been "demonized" and urging new yorkers to listen to his defense before making their own judgments. he said that he would not resign. "my daily work will not change. i will continue to do the job i was elected to do for 8.3 million new yorkers."

adams claimed that he was "targeted" by the federal government because of his disagreements with the white house on immigration policy, and said, "i look forward to defending myself and the people of this city, as i have throughout my career. do that”.

after the media leaked the news that he would be prosecuted on the evening of the 25th, adams responded in a video: "my fellow new yorkers, i now believe that the federal government intends to charge me with a crime... but this is not surprising... when the federal government "i put the people of new york ahead of party and politics when inaction on their poor immigration policies overwhelms our admissions system."

according to the federal indictment, adams has had improper dealings with turkey since 2014 when he was brooklyn borough president, including accepting free upgrades from turkish national airlines, accommodation in luxury hotels in turkey, and other "luxury entertainment." in addition to turkey, the air tickets for him and his companions from new york to china, france, hungary, india, sri lanka and other places were also contracted or provided at a discount by turkish airlines.

the indictment stated that these "illegal benefits" were worth more than $120,000, and that adams and his staff tried to conceal their actions from the public by forging written records, deleting correspondence, and changing mobile phone passwords; in november last year, the federal government learned that even after the fbi launched an investigation, adams and his team still took steps to conceal the above-mentioned plan.

prosecutors said that in exchange for benefits, adams pressured city officials in september 2021 at the request of a turkish diplomat to open the newly constructed turkish consulate building in the united states without a fire inspection. when the fire department cleared the building to open later that day, adams notified the diplomat, who responded: "you are a true friend of türkiye."

on the 27th local time, a spokesperson for the turkish ministry of foreign affairs stated in response to the relevant situation that turkey is paying close attention to the progress of the adams case. "our diplomatic missions perform their duties in accordance with the vienna convention and diplomatic traditions. we cannot interfere in the internal affairs of any country." ".

in addition, prosecutors also accused adams of accepting "straw donations" from the aforementioned turkish officials and other foreigners to fund his 2021 mayoral campaign. u.s. law prohibits foreign entities from donating to u.s. political candidates. the so-called "straw donation" refers to foreign businessmen, companies, or new york voters who have donated the maximum allowable amount, donating funds in the name of others to evade campaign contribution restrictions.

according to prosecutors, on this basis, adams is also suspected of taking advantage of new york city policies to "steal" more campaign funds by falsely reporting the amount of small donations.

it is reported that before entering politics, adams worked in the new york city police department for 22 years. since then, he has served as a state senator and brooklyn borough president. in november 2021, he was elected as the second black mayor in the history of new york city and officially took office in january 2022. this charge makes him the first sitting mayor to be criminally prosecuted in the history of new york city, and he will face up to 45 years in prison.

since 2021, adams and many senior officials and assistants closely connected with him have been subject to anti-corruption investigations related to campaign funds and other matters. in september this year, the new york city police commissioner, the mayor's chief legal counsel, the health director, and the head of new york city public schools announced their resignations, and two former new york city fire department chiefs were arrested on bribery charges.

this article is an exclusive manuscript of observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.