New York Mayor Eric Adams will be tried federal corruption cases Beginning on April 21, 2025, a judge said Friday.
The date upset the defense, which argued for a schedule that could have ended the trial by early April at the latest to accommodate “serious and serious concerns,” namely the mayor’s re-election campaign.
The defense argued that Adams needed to resolve the criminal case by the time the New York vote is decided this spring.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams leaves U.S. federal court in New York, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024.
Kena Betancur/AP
“There’s a time in early April when people know who’s in the running,” defense attorney Alex Spiro said during Friday’s hearing. “He’s either running with this hanging over his head, or he’s walking on it.”
Judge Dale Ho said he appreciates the interest in a speedy trial “for any defendant, but especially Mayor Adams given the election cycle.”
“But I have to be realistic about what can be done,” he continued.
Adams has He pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment which accused him of accepting years of lavish travel gifts, including persuading firefighters to approve the opening of the new Turkish consulate in Manhattan, despite lingering safety concerns from inspectors.
The defense tries to get rid of the bribery charge
The defense argued at Friday’s hearing that a bribery charge should be dismissed because the alleged conduct does not meet the legal definition of bribery.
As Adams watched silently in court, defense attorney John Bash argued that federal prosecutors failed to show that Adams did more than set up broker meetings and phone calls.
“The agreement has to relate to something specific and it has to relate to the power of the government,” Bash said. “They did not agree on a specific action.”
New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives at a U.S. court hearing on charges of bribery and illegal solicitation of campaign contributions from an alien on Nov. 1, 2024, in New York City.
Kent Edwards/Reuters
The defense argued that Adams could not have taken official action on behalf of the Turkish guards because at the time he was in the ceremonial role of the Brooklyn borough president and not the mayor who had authority over the New York City Fire Department.
“The pressure has to somehow come from the government authority of the official,” Bash said.
Federal prosecutors disagreed. They argued that even though Adams had no authority over the fire department, his position gave him access.
“You don’t have to have an oversight role to exert pressure,” Assistant US Attorney Hagan Scotten said, calling the alleged bribery “clear as day.”
Prosecutors argued that Adams knew when she accepted the travel gifts that she was “entering into a transactional relationship.”
At most, Scotten said, Adams is entitled to a clarifying jury instruction and not to dismiss the charge entirely.
The judge has not yet ruled on the defense’s request.
