Legal/Law/Criminal Justice and Reform

Prosecutors May Bring Additional Charges Against Eric Adams, Other Defendants

(Flickr/Marc A. Hermann/ MTA)

Prosecutors indicated Wednesday that they may bring more charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and additional defendants, according to multiple reports.

Adams, who was indicted last week on bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance charges, appeared in court for a hearing Wednesday before Judge Dale Ho. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten told Ho prosecutors would “likely” seek a superseding indictment, which could mean more charges against Adams and will likely include other defendants, according to the Associated Press.

Adams pleaded not guilty on Friday to all five federal charges in his indictment. His attorneys filed a motion to dismiss a bribery charge on Monday, writing it “does not meet the definition of bribery and indeed does not amount to a federal crime at all.”

Mayor Adams is in court for his first appearance before Judge Dale Ho.

Prosecutors just said it’s “very likely” more charges are coming.

“We think that is quite likely,” AUSA Hagan Scotten said. “And likely additional defendants will be charged in this scheme.”

— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) October 2, 2024

The indictment alleges Adams “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits, such as luxury international travel, including from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official seeking to gain influence over him” for nearly a decade. Prosecutors claim these perks amounted to over $100,000 in value.

In exchange for these benefits, prosecutors alleged Adams agreed to help have the Turkish Consulate established.

“That extraordinarily vague allegation encompasses a wide array of normal and perfectly lawful acts that many City officials would undertake for the consulate of an important foreign nation,” his attorneys wrote in the motion to dismiss the count.