New York City Mayor Eric Adams returned to court Friday, sitting stoically as his lawyers fought to eliminate a key charge in the federal corruption indictment that threatens his political future.
The Democrat’s lawyers are fighting to throw out a bribery charge, one of five counts in a case that U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho said will go to trial April 21, 2025. They argued at a hearing in Manhattan federal court that the charge does not meet the federal standard of a crime, particularly after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions redefined how bribery is prosecuted.
Prosecutors suggested Adams' lawyers were splitting hairs because, as they allege, Adams was taking bribes and exerting influence while holding a prior elected office and as he anticipated becoming mayor.
Ho said he would take the arguments “under advisement and attempt to rule shortly."
The bribery charge “does not state a federal offense” and is “insufficiently specific” to support keeping the count as part of Adams’ indictment, his lawyer John Bash argued.
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“The prosecutor for the United States had trouble defining what the ‘quo’ is here,” Bash said, referring to the concept of a “quid pro quo,” a Latin phrase essentially meaning “this for that," or “something for something.”
The indictment, which also includes wire fraud and conspiracy charges, accuses Adams of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks valued at $100,000 along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence.
In exchange, prosecutors allege, Adams performed political favors that benefited the Turkish government, including accelerating the opening of a consulate building deemed unsafe by fire inspectors. Adams held a different elected position at the time, Brooklyn borough president, but by then it was clear that he would become mayor.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vowed to remain in office as he mounts his legal defense.
Bash argued the alleged perks don't meet the legal definition of bribery because they predate his time as mayor and have "nothing to do with his governmental position.” Adams' lawyers contend prosecutors are seeking to criminalize “normal and perfectly lawful acts” that Adams undertook as Brooklyn borough president before he was elected mayor.
Under the law, prosecutors must show that Adams took bribes in exchange for using his official office to exert influence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten argued that Adams’ role as borough president “gets him in the room, as it were, with the fire commissioner.”
Ho wondered whether, rather than Adams' job as borough president, it was Adams’ impending move to City Hall that gave him the power to pressure the fire department.
“It seems a little weird when the jurisdictional connection here is that he was Brooklyn borough president but that his ability to exert pressure extends from something else," Ho said.
Scotten stood firm, arguing that “if Margot Robbie gave him a call and was really persuasive,” the “Barbie” actor and producer still wouldn't be able to influence the fire department without also holding an elected office.
“He probably would've taken that call," Ho quipped, prompting laughter in the courtroom.
Ho allotted the defense and prosecution each 20 minutes to argue the issue.
The judge interjected with questions throughout the arguments, at one point asking Bash to consider whether prosecutors would be able to remedy their alleged deficiencies by providing additional details or allegations.
“I’d hate to write the government’s superseding indictment for them, if that’s the direction they’re going to go,” Bash replied before launching into an extended discussion of the intricacies of bribery law.
Scotten said at a hearing last month that they are pursuing “several related investigations” and that it is “quite likely” prosecutors will seek a superseding indictment charging Adams with additional crimes. Scotten also said it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged.
Late Thursday, Ho rejected another defense attempt to chip away at the case, denying Adams' request for a hearing on the mayor's claims that the government has been leaking information about the investigation to the news media.
The judge ruled that Adams and his lawyers failed to substantiate those claims and, if any leaks occurred, that the government was to blame.
In court filings outlining their arguments, Adams' lawyers said the years of flight upgrades and other perks the mayor received were at most “classic gratuities,” which a recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings found were not covered by the bribery statute if they were given for past acts, according to the filing.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, responded that Adams actions were plainly criminal.
“It should be clear from the face of the indictment that there is nothing routine about a public official accepting over $100,000 in benefits from a foreign diplomat, which he took great pains to conceal — including by manufacturing fake paper trails to create the illusion of payment,” prosecutors wrote.
Several of Adams’ closest aides — including his police commissioner, schools chancellor and multiple deputy mayors — have resigned in recent months after federal investigators executed coordinated searches of their homes in early September.
Adams has maintained that he can continue to lead the city effectively while fighting the charges.
But his political future remains fraught and several opponents have announced plans to challenge him in next year's mayoral primary.
Earlier this week, Adams raised eyebrows after repeatedly declining to criticize former President Donald Trump, refusing to say when he last spoke with the Republican nominee or whether he was angling for a pardon should Trump win reelection.
