On September 26, an indictment of New York mayor Eric Adams was unsealed in the southern district of New York. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney, said in a press release that Adams “took bribes” by “taking illegal benefits from foreign nationals-including to allow a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection” and thereby “put the interests of his benefactors above those of his constituents.” Adams is charged with five felonies in the 57-page indictment.
The indictment recites in great detail what Adams allegedly received and from whom and the steps he took to hide his behavior. It shows that the government had the cooperation of many of his associates and of the foreigners who supposedly payed him off.
Not to insult your intelligence, but I must say that I have no idea if the facts charged are true and that Adams is clothed with the presumption of innocence. I am not going to use the word “allegedly” in my descriptions. That’s a given.
This is an unusual case. It does not involve large amounts of money enhancing (or creating) Adams’ net worth. In fact, Adams has nothing to show from what he is charged with receiving.
The case, plain and simple, is about consumption.
Adams liked to live well without spending any money. He developed a relationship with Turks over many years. He traveled on Turkish Airlines and got upgraded to first or business class with coach tickets that he never purchased in the first place. When he got to his various destinations, he was comped at luxury hotels and treated to fine dining.
In his first campaign for mayor, Adams received illegal campaign contributions from Turks disguised as legal contributors and from “straw” contributors who were really acting for others. This continued with contributions to a projected 2025 bid for reelection. Some of these contributions qualified for New York’s matching funds at eight times what was contributed.
The government will have to prove that Adams, and not his campaign, knowingly collected every one of these foreign contributions and straw donors, not generally but specifically. Good luck with that.
Adams is not charged with pocketing any of these illegal contributions.
The airline, restaurant and hotel freebies add up to $ 123,000 according to the indictment.
I have the impression that this is a penny ante case in which Adams went for small stakes.
Then the Turks wanted a favor. Its new consulate in Manhattan did not have a certificate of occupancy and President Erdogan was about to visit.. The obstacle was the Fire Department. Enter Adams. A temporary certificate was issued without a Fire Department inspection.
The mayor went to extraordinary lengths to hide or obfuscate the Turks’ largesse. Phony emails and erasure of the real ones. On one occasion, Adams told an aide that he had left $10,000 in cash in an envelope in her desk drawer and instructed her to deliver the cash to Turkish Airlines as a repayment of what it was owed. No envelope. No cash.
The policy question here is whether this lousy behavior merits indictment. Because Adams committed a number of federal crimes, the Department of Justice is on firm legal ground. But should Adams’ passion for consumption through high living with other people’s money and elaborately lying about it merit indictment? Especially since he must resign his office (not legally but practically) to watch a special election to replace him within 80 days of his departure.
Wait until you get a load of the beauties who want his job!