As the charges have mounted, dozens of New York elected officials have called for Adams to resign.[11][12] Under theNew York City Charter, theNew York State Governor holds the power to suspend the Mayor for 30 days and ultimately remove him.[13] GovernorKathy Hochul has so far declined to exercise this right or call for Adams's resignation, saying that, "It's now up to Mayor Adams to show the City that he is able to lead", while under indictment.[14] The charter also contains language to remove a mayor via a never-before-usedInability Committee,[15][16] consisting of the city's corporation counsel, comptroller, council speaker, senior borough president, and one deputy mayor.[17] It would take four votes to start the process of removing the mayor – temporarily or permanently – which he could dispute,[18] and would still need to pass the full council.[19]
Adams calls the charges "entirely false, based on lies", and has vowed to fight the charges.[20] Adams and his defenders maintain the charges are retaliation for his opposing theBiden-Harris administration's handling of themigrant crisis.[21]
On February 10, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed federal prosecutors to drop charges against Adams.[22][23] On February 13, 2025, the interimUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New York,Danielle Renee Sassoon,resigned after refusing to drop the charges.[24][25] Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the DOJ'sCriminal Division, and John Keller, the acting head of the DOJ'sPublic Integrity Section, also resigned in response to the instructions to drop the charges, as did three other prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section.[26]Hagan Scotten, the assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York who had been the lead prosecutor in the case against Adams resigned as well.[27][28] On February 17, 2025, comptrollerBrad Lander released a public letter to Mayor Adams threatening to convene a meeting of the Inability Committee if Adams did not "develop and present a detailed contingency plan outlining how you intend to manage the City of New York".[29]
In April 2025, the judge presiding over the federal indictment,Dale Ho, dismissed the case against Adams with prejudice, without opining on the merits of the case, as Ho cited inability to force the Justice Department to prosecute.[30][31]
Dating to theBrooklyn borough presidency, Eric Adams has faced press scrutiny regarding his foreign travel.[32] Adams has boasted in particular of his travel with Turkey, and of having met with Turkish presidentRecep Tayyip Erdoğan.[33] In August 2015, the consulate-general of Turkey paid for Adams's trip to the country.[34] As mayor, Adams boasts that no other mayor in New York City history had visited the country as often as he had.[35]
In May 2021, employees of the Brooklyn construction firm KSK Construction donated a total ofUS$14,000 to Adams's mayoral campaign, allowing the campaign to qualify forUS$18,000 in publicmatching funds. According toPolitico, of the firm's 11 employees, 10 had not made a prior political donation; co-owner Erden Arkan had last donated to former Brooklyn borough presidentMarty Markowitz's campaign in 2009.[36] KSK Construction is heavily financed by the Turkish bankVakıfBank, which is controlled by the Turkish state.[37]
On November 2, 2023, investigators raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, Adams's chief fundraiser. The search warrant, obtained byThe New York Times, states agents seized threeiPhones, two laptops, contribution card binders, and other documents.[35] The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched a dozen locations that day,[39] including the residence of formerTurkish Airlines executive Cenk Öcal and Director of Protocol in the Mayor's Office for International Affairs Rana Abbasova.[40] On November 3, investigators questioned Nigro over theTurkish House.[34] Days after the raid at Suggs's home, the FBI seized at least two of Adams's cellphones and aniPad. Adams's campaign cooperated with the FBI's request.[41]
On April 5, 2024, theTimes reported that the FBI was investigating flight upgrades Adams purportedly received on Turkish Airlines flights.[42] In July, investigators servedgrand jurysubpoenas.[43]
In addition to the resignation and seizing of the phone of police commissioner Caban, Adams's counsel and chief legal adviser Lisa Zornberg resigned, as did deputy commissioner of public private partnerships and economic development Kristen Kaufman.[44] Director of Asylum Seeker Operations Molly Schaeffer was also visited by law enforcement, who served a federal subpoena on her.[45][46][47]
Following a report fromThe New York Times that Adams was being investigated over the construction of the Turkish House, Adams further denied wrongdoing[49] and assured that he would continue to cooperate with investigators.[50] Adams and the City Hall's chief counsel requested the FBI cease leaks of its investigation.[51]
RepresentativeBrandon Williams accused the investigation of being a "weaponization of the justice system" against Adams's critical comments towards presidentJoe Biden. New York City Council minority leaderJoe Borelli defended Adams on Twitter.[53] TheNew York Post's editorial board questioned whether the investigation could be political retribution.Politico compared the rhetoric among Adams's supporters withDonald Trump's supporters.[53]
The Campaign Finance Board rejected, later in the year, Adams's matching funds request for his reelection campaign. The campaign requested $4 million. Board chair Federick Schaffer explained that "the Board has determined there is reason to believe the Adams campaign has engaged in conduct detrimental to the matching funds program, in violation of law, including the Campaign Finance Act and Board Rules." The campaign can appeal the decision, or opt out of receiving matching funds altogether to raise the individual donor cap from $2,100 to $3,700.[55]
Edward Caban resigned his role as NYPD Commissioner after having his phone seized by federal agents.
In early September 2024, federal agents, at the direction of the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, seized the phone ofNew York City Police CommissionerEdward Caban. The probe focuses on nightclub protection services owned by Caban's twin brother, James Caban, who was fired from theNYPD in 2001 and also had his phone seized.[56] Edward Caban resigned on September 12, at the request of the Adams administration.[57] According to Caban's lawyers, he has been told he is not a subject of investigation.[8]
Banks brothers bribery and corruption investigation
The office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York is investigating a possible bribery scheme focusing on the consulting firm Pearl Alliance. The firm was founded by Terence Banks, the brother ofPhilip Banks III, deputy mayor of New York City for public safety, andDavid C. Banks, theNew York City schools chancellor. Philip and David each oversaw public agencies that tendered contracts with clients of the Pearl Alliance. All three brothers had their phones seized.[9][56]
In September 2024, search warrants were served to employees of SaferWatch – also a client company of The Pearl Alliance – in relation to the possible corruption investigation.[58] TheNew York City Police Department paid SaferWatch more than $67,000 since August 2023 for "school safety" services.[59]
Under a cloud, Chancellor David C. Banks and Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III each resigned in the month of October 2024. David C. Banks tried to have his resignation at a later date, but said that Adams had "accelerated" the timeline of his resignation.[60][10]
Greco (right), a longtime figure within New York City's Chinese community, joinsSun Guoxiang (center) andMarty Markowitz in 2011.
On February 29, 2024, the FBI searchedNew World Mall and two houses owned by Winnie Greco (Chinese:郑祺蓉;pinyin:Zhèng Qíróng), Adams's Asian affairs advisor and a close aide of the mayor.[61][62] Greco was also a prominent fundraiser for Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign. Greco reportedly maintained ties tounited front organizations and raised money by via straw donors through a non-profit called the Alliance of Asian American Friends.[63][64] The investigation is being conducted by theUnited States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.[56]
More than a year later, after an August 20 fundraiser for Adams, Greco attempted to give a reporter fromThe City cash in an envelope that itself was hidden in a bag ofpotato chips. Greco's lawyer told The City that "Winnie’s intent was purely innocent. In the Chinese culture, money is often given to others in a gesture of friendship and gratitude." The Adams campaign suspended Greco's involvement.[65][66]
TheManhattan district attorney's office opened a further corruption investigation on October 9 on the city corruptly leasing commercial property. According to a source inThe New York Times, the focus is on possible bribery and money laundering, among other possible crimes.[67]
The Southern District of New York served a grand jury subpoena toIngrid Lewis-Martin, chief advisor to Adams since 2022, and took her phone as she returned to New York from a trip to Japan. She was accompanied by fellow Adams administration member and attorneyJesse Hamilton andCushman & Wakefield real estate broker Diana Boutross, whose phones were also seized at the airport by the New York County District Attorney.[68][69][67] Friends of Lewis-Martin and Boutross describe them to theTimes as close friends of each other.[67] At the same time, Lewis-Martin's home in Brooklyn was also searched.[67] State investigators tied to the New York County District Attorney were present at both scenes.[70][71]
Timothy Pearson, a retired police inspector, Adams's former supervisor in the NYPD, and senior advisor and one his aides and confidants, had his phone seized by federal agents. It's unclear what investigation Pearson's phone seizure relates to.[9][72]
On September 25, 2024,The New York Times reported Adams had beenindicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges.[74] The following morning, FBI agents entered his official residence atGracie Mansion and seized his phone.[75] On September 26, the case against Adams was assigned, unsealing the indictment and revealing the charges against him, which are as follows:
Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, claimed that Adams took over $100,000 in bribes fromTurkey in exchange for using his powers to help open theTurkevi Center. These bribes mostly took the form of free and discounted luxury travel benefits. These benefits included free hotel rooms, free meals at high-end restaurants, free entertainment while in Turkey, free and heavily discounted flights, and similarly free and discounted flight class upgrades.[77] In exchange for these perks, Adams pressured the New York City Fire Department to approve the opening of a new Turkish consular building without a fire inspection. The indictment claims that the building would have failed the fire inspection, and that the FDNY official responsible for the building assessment was told he would lose his job if he did not allow the building to open.[78]
The indictment alleges Adams deliberately omitted the gifts' value from his annualNew York City Conflicts of Interest Board disclosures, and notes communications suggestive of a cover-up. The indictment also alleges that Adams and his Turkish contacts conspired to hide the ultimate source of campaign contributions through an illegalstraw donor scheme that defrauded the matching funds of theNew York City Campaign Finance Board.[2] The indictment also notes that Turkish officials pressed a staffer for assurances that Adams would boycott 2022 commemorations of theArmenian Genocide Remembrance Day, in line with Turkey's official policy ofArmenian genocide denial, and that Adams appeared to comply with the request.[79]
Adams is the first sitting mayor of New York City to have been indicted on federal crimes and pleaded not guilty on September 27.[80][81]
Investigations into the Adams administration continued after his indictment.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a chief advisor, was issued a grand jury subpoena on September 27 by the US Attorney's Office relating to the Adams case.[67] On December 15, 2024, Lewis-Martin resigned from her position as chief adviser, with the mayor's office framing her departure as a "planned retirement". Lewis-Martin's departure followed a high-profile legal inquiry into allegations that she had accepted improper gifts during her time in office. She has publicly denied these accusations, stating that she "never took any gifts, money, or anything" while in her role and had not made arrangements for others to receive benefits on her behalf.
The investigation into Lewis-Martin intensified in late September 2024, when prosecutors from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office searched her home and seized her personal phones. Upon returning from a flight from Japan, she was met at the airport by both federal and Manhattan prosecutors. The investigation involves a grand jury, which invited Lewis-Martin to testify, but she declined. Her lawyer, Arthur Aidala, asserted that the investigation was politically motivated and that the grand jury's decision was predetermined.[82]
The New York City Department of Investigation raidedQueens offices of theNew York City Sheriff's Office. Reports indicate the raid was seeking cash and records kept by the Sheriff's Office, part of controversies surroundingchain of custody following the Sheriff's closure of unlicensed cannabis dispensaries.[83][84]
FBI agents also served warrants at375 Pearl Street where Adams associates Philip Banks III and Timothy Pearson keep offices.[85]
Mohamed Bahi exiting federal court after arraignment
On October 8, 2024,Mohamed Bahi, Mayor Adams's Chief Liaison to the Muslim community, who was believed to have played a prominent role in encouraging witnesses to lie and destroying evidence in connection with illegal contributions to Adams's mayoral campaign, was arrested and charged withwitness tampering anddestruction of evidence.[4][5]
Bahi was charged the day after he resigned as the Adams administration's chief liaison to the Muslim community.[4][5] The same day, Bahi was arraigned in Manhattan federal court, where his bail was set at $250,000.[5] Bahi would not enter a plea during his arraignment.[5] He faces up to 20 years of prison time on each count.[86]
Adams' indictment was dismissed with prejudice in April 2025 by judgeDale Ho, who wrote that the court "cannot force the Department of Justice to prosecute a defendant."[30] Ho highlighted that the dismissal was "not about whether Mayor Adams is innocent or guilty"; the dismissal "does not express any opinion as to the merits of the case or whether the prosecution of Mayor Adams 'should' move forward".[31]
Ho commented that the Justice Department's dismissal request "smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions", while rejecting the Justice Department's argument that the case against Adams was election interference, as Adams' case was "entirely consistent with prior public corruption prosecutions".[30][87]
Ho declined to dismiss without prejudice as requested by the Justice Department, as Ho wrote that doing so risked Adams becoming seemingly "more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents", as it would appear that Adams' "freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities" of the Trump administration.[30][88]
There have been many responses to the investigation and indictment of Adams, dividing on the questions of whether the charges are fair and whether Adams should remain in office while awaiting trial.
If Adams resigns, the acting mayor would beJumaane Williams, theNYC public advocate.[89] Williams would be required to hold an election within 80 days.[90] New York GovernorKathy Hochul is the only New York official who could unilaterally suspend and remove Adams.[90] On September 26, 2024, Hochul called the indictment "the latest in a disturbing pattern of events", but stopped well short of demanding a resignation, saying that "it's now up to Mayor Adams to show the City that he is able to lead."[91]
Adams has stated that he does not plan to resign.[92]
AMarist College poll conducted from September 30 to October 1, 2024, of 1,073 registered voters in New York City found that 65% of respondents believed Adams had committed illegal acts, and 70% wanted him to resign; if he does not resign, 63% wanted Hochul to remove him.[93] By March 2025, Adams's approval rating had fallen to just 20%, the lowest in the nearly 30-year history ofQuinnipiac University's NYC mayoral polling.[94]
Months ahead of his indictment, Adams named a number of his allies as fundraisers for of his legal defense fund.[54][better source needed] These allies made statements in support of Adams after the indictment as well:
Politico compared the rhetoric among Adams's supporters withDonald Trump's supporters, and noted the support of Republicans for Adams:
New York City Council minority leaderJoe Borelli defended Adams on Twitter.
RepresentativeBrandon Williams accused the investigation of being a "weaponization of the justice system" against Adams's critical comments towards PresidentJoe Biden.
The New York Post's editorial board questioned if the investigation could be political retribution.[53]
Tablet editor-in-chiefLiel Leibovitz opined that Jews should stand with Adams, "a hero to Jews and New Yorkers" for his "zero-tolerance approach to theHamasniks in our streets".[101]
National Action Network founderAl Sharpton told the press, "I have known Eric Adams for 35 years. I've never known him to have any leanings towards criminality. He [deserves] due process." He also counseled Hochul against the use of her constitutional power to remove Adams.[102]
On September 26, 2024, the day the indictment was unsealed,The New York Times editorial board ran the opinion article "Eric Adams Should Resign".[103] TheStaten Island Advance editorial of September 27 pressed for Adams's resignation, saying "We can't see Eric Adams focusing much on city business over the months he'll be dealing with the charges if he remains in office."[104]
Dozens of elected officials, political groups, and other notable individuals called for Adams's resignation or removal, especially following his indictment, including:
^Russo-Lennon, Barbara; Pozarycki, Robert (September 26, 2024)."Mayor Adams indictment: What happens if he chooses to resign – or is removed from office?".AM New York Metro. RetrievedOctober 2, 2024.members of the city government could also form an ad-hoc 'inability committee' to remove the mayor ... five members: the city's corporation council, comptroller, speaker of the city council, the borough president with the longest term in office – and even a deputy mayor appointed by the mayor himself ... those members would be Lander, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, Speaker Adrienne Adams ... city does have an acting corporation counsel, who has the full powers of the office ... Experts say the city charter's provisions are unclear on what constitutes inability or whether a mayor under indictment meets such a definition.
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