(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams is vowing to defend himself against a yet-to-be-unsealed federal indictment as the embattled Democrat faces growing pressure to resign from office.
The indictment, first reported by the New York Times, is expected to be unsealed Thursday by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damien Williams. The charges were not immediately clear but appeared to focus on whether Adams’ mayoral campaign conspired with Turkey and other foreign governments to receive illegal campaign contributions during his 2021 mayoral run.
As news of the indictments broke, Adams released a video statement late Wednesday in which he vowed to fight the charges and remain in office, asking New York residents for “prayers and patience.”
“I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit,” he says in the video, posted on YouTube, adding, “I am innocent,” and he plans to request an “immediate trial so New Yorkers can hear the truth.”
Adams, 64, was elected to lead the nation’s most populous city nearly three years ago, pledging to reduce crime and guide the city out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, multiple investigations have swirled around Adams and senior administration officials over the past year, prompting the resignations of the city’s police commissioner, health commissioner and schools chancellor. The investigations began in November 2023, when federal authorities searched the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. Adams also had his electronic devices temporarily seized by investigators.
A retired NYPD captain, Adams has insisted for months that he “follows the law” and suggested that he has been targeted by federal investigators because he is Black. He is New York’s second Black mayor.
The indictment, which makes Adams the first New York City mayor to be charged with federal crimes, has prompted a flurry of demands from fellow New York Democrats for him to step down.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Bronx, said in a statement on social media. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.”
State Senator Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn Democrat who is running for mayor, called news of the indictments a “sad day” for New York and “especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this mayor.”
“We need a leader who is fully focused, without distraction, on the enormous challenges we face — from housing affordability to public safety,” he said in a statement. “A mayor under the weight of a serious indictment can no longer do that — and today I am calling on him to resign.”
“The mayor needs to resign for the good of the city. His legal fight is not our fight,” Scott Stringer, a former New York City comptroller and 2021 mayoral candidate, said in a statement. “While the mayor focuses on proving his innocence, the rest of us need to focus on the business of the city — building affordable housing, educating our kids, and keeping this city safe.”
The influential New York Working Families Party, posted a statement also calling on Adams to resign, saying the indictments mean that he “can no longer govern” the city.
“He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve,” the group said.
New York City Councilman Robert Holden, a Queens Democrat, said while Adams is “presumed innocent until proven guilty” there is “no way he can effectively lead with this cloud hanging over him.”
“It’s a sad day for New York City when a sitting mayor is indicted on federal charges,” Holden, co-chairman of the Council’s Common Sense Caucus, said in a statement. “While he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, there is no way he can effectively lead with this cloud hanging over him. With the challenges our city faces, he must step down for the good of New Yorkers.”
