Prosecutors have informed Mayor Eric Adams that he may be facing additional charges.
CNN reported that federal prosecutor Hagan Scotten said that they are armed with evidence that Adams attempted to tamper with one of the witnesses who is cooperating with the investigation during Adams’ hearing on Wednesday (October 2).
According to Scotten, FBI agents has contacted one witness who was allegedly given a “clear message from the defendant” and was told to withhold facts from the FBI. Scotten described the alleged interaction as a “significant instance of witness interference in this case.”
Scotten also said that the prosecution team can not access Adams’ cell phone although they seized it last November. According to the indictment, authorities noted that Adams switched the password on the phone when found out that the investigation had commenced and then told authorities that he could not remember the new password.
Eric Adams’ Lawyer speaks out:
Alex Spiro, Adams’ defense attorney, said that “is the sort of nonsense that prosecutors say when they don’t have a real case. If they had a real case, they would have brought it.”
On Thursday, (September 26), Adams was charged with bribery, fraud, and accepting illegal foreign campaign donations. The 57-page indictment alleged that Adams received over $100,000 in luxury travel benefits, including free and discounted Turkish Airlines tickets, meals, and hotel accommodations which first began in 2014 when he served as Brooklyn borough president.
Prosecutors also accuse Adams of conspiring with the Turkish government and taking official actions in exchange for these perks such as accelerating the building of the Turkish Consulate General in New York City, which had fire safety issues.
At a press conference Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits,” and laid out the case against the embattled mayor.
“We are announcing campaign finance bribery and conspiracy charges against Eric Adams, the Mayor of New York City. As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations,” Williams argued. “As we allege, Mayor Adams took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal and even though he knew these contributions were attempts by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessman to buy influence with him.”
At the hearing, Spiro asked the judge if the trial could conclude by March “because of the certification process for next year’s mayoral election”, alluding to Adams’ possible reelection bid during next year’s primary.
If convicted on all charges, Adams could face a maximum of 45 years in prison.
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