Eric Adams to stand trial on corruption charges in April, judge says
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City is scheduled to stand trial on corruption charges April 21, a federal judge said at a hearing Friday.
During the same appearance, in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Judge Dale E. Ho responded to a request by Adams to throw out a bribery charge against him by saying he would rule on the matter at a later date.
Prosecutors also reiterated plans, first previewed at a hearing last month, to bring more charges against Adams and others in what they described as a wide-ranging corruption scheme involving the mayor, his campaign fundraising and Turkish government officials who sought to influence him.
Ho’s decision Friday essentially split the difference between the timeline sought by the prosecutors and the one requested by Adams’ lawyers, who argued that the mayor needed to go to trial as soon as possible before next year’s Democratic mayoral primary. That race was already shaping up to be hotly contested, with several serious challengers pointing to Adams’ legal problems as grounds for throwing him out of office.
“In this city, with an election happening, the court should take into account that he is not just sitting here presumed innocent anymore,” said Alex Spiro, one of Adams’ lawyers. “It doesn’t give him a realistic chance. If he still has this hanging over his head, that impacts the election, period.”
Adams, who pleaded not guilty and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, has resisted calls to resign. The five-count indictment against him was unsealed in late September by prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
In the indictment, prosecutors said he had spent years seeking and accepting free or heavily discounted luxury travel from Turkish officials before receiving a request to help with a problem the Turkish government was having with a city agency.
Even if the bribery charge is ultimately dismissed, Adams will still face charges of fraud; conspiracy to commit fraud and receive illegal foreign campaign contributions; and two counts of soliciting illegal foreign campaign contributions.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
