New York City’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan over the financing of his victorious 2021 campaign, the Manhattan prosecutors said. revealed Wednesday evening the New York TimesThe New York daily did not specify the grounds for the indictment, but indicated that more details should be revealed this Thursday by the federal prosecutor in Manhattan. Two sources also confirmed his indictment to theAmerican news agency APThis would be a first in the history of the largest city in the United States, which has 8.5 million inhabitants.
The announcement adds to the difficulties of New York’s second African-American mayor, a former police captain elected in 2021 on promises of security, but whose approval rating has plummeted as cases targeting the mayor’s office have multiplied. His indictment also risks embarrassing the Democratic Party, forty days before the US presidential election between Kamala Harris and her Republican opponent Donald Trump.
“I became a target”
Eric Adams, 64, defended himself in a video message Wednesday night, saying he was innocent and ruling out resigning. He said that if he were charged, “these charges would be completely false, based on lies.” “I always knew that if I stood up for New Yorkers, I would be a target — and I have become a target,” he added. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight with all my might and spirit.”
A New York political analyst, Doug Muzzio, told AFP on Wednesday that Eric Adams “cannot escape his responsibilities”. Even if he is not considered close to Kamala Harris, “Republicans can say: look, this is the largest city in the United States, it is run by Democrats, and there is reason to believe that corruption is widespread there”, said this retired professor at Baruch University in New York.
Suspicions of illegal financing of his campaign
Eric Adams is the target of an investigation into his 2021 campaign finance. In November 2023, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized the mayor’s cellphones and electronic devices and raided the home of a fundraiser for his campaign. At least four federal investigations are underway, including three led by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, targeting the mayor and his associates.
The investigation is focused on allegations of illegal donations to the Democrat’s campaign by construction companies linked to Turkey. In particular, suspicions are focused on Turkey’s authorization to build a huge skyscraper across the street from the UN headquarters in Manhattan, housing the country’s mission to the United Nations and its consulate general.
Cascade of resignations and calls for the mayor to step down
The indictment comes after several of the mayor’s close associates resigned in recent days, including his health commissioner and the mayor’s education chancellor, who is also under investigation. Police Chief Edward Caban, who also faces investigation, resigned earlier in September, just a year after taking over the 36,000-person New York Police Department.
But the mayor himself has ruled out this option for the moment, despite it being demanded by several figures in the Democratic camp. On Wednesday, New York’s elected representative to the House of Representatives and left-wing figure Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Eric Adams to resign, “for the good of the city.”
Resignation or dismissal?
According to AP, if he resigns, he would be replaced by the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, who would then schedule a special election. New York Gov. Kathy Ochul also has the power to remove Adams from office, specifies the New York Timeswhich recalls, however, that the only most recent precedent dates back to 1931, “when Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt held 14 days of hearings into the misconduct of Mayor Jimmy Walker, who ultimately resigned in 1932.”
Eric Adams won the 2021 Democratic primary on a promise to curb crime, which had spiked in New York during the COVID pandemic. He has credited a decline in violent crime, but New Yorkers are also grappling with rising living costs and a housing crisis that has driven rents to record highs. By late 2023, his approval rating had fallen to a record low of 28% in one poll. Against that backdrop, several rivals have declared themselves candidates for the party’s 2025 primary.