On Sept. 26, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Jocelyn E. Strauber, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, announced the unsealing of an indictment charging New York City Mayor Eric Adams with bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses.
Fordham Law Professor Zephyr Teachout is quoted in a Gothamist article that breaks down what Adams is accused of, what it would take for prosecutors to prove their case, how Adams’ team might defend him in court, and whether Adams could go to prison.
The indictment cites emails and text messages between Adams and several unnamed associates, including a fundraiser, a staff liaison to Turkey and other Muslim-majority countries in Eastern Europe, a Turkish official and several Turkish businesspeople. It also describes frantic efforts from Adams’ circle to cover up the alleged scheme, including a staffer sneaking off to the bathroom during an FBI interview to delete encrypted messaging apps she used to communicate with the mayor.
“It reads like a play,” Zephyr Teachout, a law professor whose work focuses on corporate and political power, told WNYC’s “All Things Considered.” “It’s a really shocking and really disturbing indictment.”
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Teachout — a former candidate for multiple offices who has also led organizations that promote government transparency and campaign finance reform — said setting up meetings in exchange for luxury goods alone wouldn’t necessarily meet the threshold. But in this case, she said, the allegations go far beyond setting up meetings.
“There’s a very disturbing set of facts about Adams saying that he knows that he owes the Turkish government something,” she said.
Read “What to expect in the court case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams” in Gothamist.