Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they might bring additional charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and indict others in the corruption case against him.
Prosecutors made the disclosure as Adams appeared in court for a hearing days after he was indicted on charges that he accepted about $100,000 worth of free or deeply discounted international flights, hotel stays, meals and entertainment from foreign interests, and obtained illegal campaign contributions. The allegations span nearly a decade, dating to when Adams was Brooklyn’s borough president.
“The prosecution is desperately now saying they ‘could’ bring a new case because they are suddenly facing dismissal of their actual, flawed case and sanctions for misconduct," said Adams attorney Alex Spiro. "This is the sort of nonsense that prosecutors say when they don’t have a real case. If they had a real case, they would have brought it.”
Prosecutors say the travel perks were arranged by a senior Turkish diplomatic official in New York and Turkish businesspeople who wanted to gain influence with Adams. The indictment alleges that Adams, a Democrat, also conspired to receive monetary donations to his political campaigns through straw donors from foreign sources who weren’t allowed to give money to U.S. political candidates.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten told Judge Dale Ho that it is “quite likely” prosecutors will seek a superseding indictment and that it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged and “possible” that more charges will be brought against Adams, who pleaded not guilty last week to the current charges against him.
Scotten said some of the evidence includes Turkish Airlines records that show Adams either didn't pay for flights or that he paid a few hundreds dollars for an economy class ticket “to create the illusion that he was paying his way" when he was really receiving free upgrades worth several thousand dollars.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Other evidence includes bank, credit card and phone records, campaign finance filings, calendar entries, emails and text messages, Scotten said. Some of the material, including communications between alleged co-conspirators arranging travel and campaign donations, is written in Turkish, he said.
Prosecutors also noted that they have not yet been able to access the mayor's phone, but are still trying, after Adams changed the password but didn't remember what it was changed to.
The U.S. attorney's office alleged that Adams told at least one witness to not cooperate with the FBI.
The hearing marked Adams' first court appearance since his arraignment on Friday.
“Busy. Busy. Busy city. Running the city. Making sure we continue to move forward,” Adams said as he stepped out of a black SUV, put on his jacket and walked up the courthouse steps. He once again brushed aside calls for him to step down, saying "we don't need an acting mayor, I'm the actual mayor."
Inside, Adams sat quietly at the defense table with his hands at his lap as the judge set a schedule to deal with complaints that his lawyers have been airing in court filings and media appearances about the charges and investigation.
Adams' lawyers have filed motions seeking to dismiss the bribery charge against him and seeking an inquiry into whether prosecutors improperly leaked information to reporters about the investigation.
The U.S. attorney's office will have until Oct. 18 to respond in writing. The defense will then have until Oct. 25 to file additional paperwork, with arguments tentatively scheduled for Oct. 31.
Adams is next scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 1, with a trial date still yet to be determined. His attorneys are pushing for a March date so it’s done before the primary, but prosecutors have said not until May.
Adams' indictment alleges that he reciprocated gifts he received from the Turkish official and businesspeople in 2021 by helping Turkey open a new diplomatic facility in the city despite concerns that had been raised by the Fire Department about whether the building could pass all of its required fire safety inspections.
Adams has denied knowingly accepting any illegal campaign contributions. He also said there was nothing improper about the trips he took abroad or the perks he received, and that any help he gave to Turkish officials regarding the diplomatic building was just routine “constituent services.” He has said helping people navigate the city's bureaucracy was part of his job.
A spokesperson for Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oncu Keceli, said in a statement that the country's missions in the U.S. and elsewhere operate according to international diplomatic rules and that "Our meddling in another country’s internal affairs is out of the question.”
More coverage
In seeking to dismiss the bribery charge, Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, argued that the mayor's flights, upgrades, meals and hotel rooms do not count as bribes under federal law.
The defense's motion regarding potential leaks didn't cite any evidence that prosecutors broke grand jury rules, but it cited a string of news reports by The New York Times about instances in which the investigation burst into public view, such as when FBI agents searched the home of one of Adams' chief fundraisers and when they stopped the mayor as he left a public event in Nov. 2023 and seized his electronic devices.
It was unclear whether the court would schedule a trial in advance of New York's June mayoral primary, where Adams is likely to face several challengers. But Spiro said he would like the trial to conclude before candidates need to be certified for the primary ballot, a deadline that he said will come in March.
“The process in New York is a bit archaic,” Spiro said, noting the argument is testing his “precise knowledge” of election law.
Ho said he would keep the request in mind.
“The public and Mayor Adams have an interest in a speedy trial here, and I agree that interest is heightened” in light of the election calendar, the judge said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has legal authority to remove the mayor, said she has been encouraged by the resignation of Tim Pearson, the former police commander and top Adams aide whose phone was seized by the FBI in a separate investigation.
"This departure is a good first step. And we will be watching to see what else unfolds over the next few days," said Hochul. "I’m just letting him know we are monitoring the situation. We expect changes. That’s not a secret. And changes are beginning."
Hochul said her priority is making sure city services continue as usual.
Pearson has maintained he did nothing wrong.
