New York Mayor pleads not guilty to corruption charges

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish nationals, as the Democrat resists mounting calls from within his own party to resign.

Mr Adams, 64, entered the plea before US Magistrate Judge Katharine Parker at his first appearance in the case in Manhattan federal court.

"I am not guilty, your honor," Mr Adams said when Judge Parker asked for his plea.

Mr Adams had previously denied wrongdoing and said he would fight the charges in court.

His lawyer, Alex Spiro, said he would file a motion to dismiss the charges next week.

Members of the US Marshals Service escorted Mr Adams and Mr Spiro out of the courtroom.

Judge Parker said she would release Mr Adams on his own recognizance on the condition that he not have contact with witnesses or people named in the indictment.

She said there would be exceptions for staff and family members, so long as he does not discuss the details of the indictment with them.

"I will continue to do my job as mayor," he told a news conference yesterday.

In an indictment, federal prosecutors said that Turkish diplomats and business people illegally funnelled money to Mr Adams' campaign and showered him with luxury travel perks, including rooms at opulent hotels and meals at high-end restaurants.

In exchange, prosecutors said, he pressured city officials in 2021 to allow Turkey's new 36-storey consulate building to open despite safety concerns.

The alleged scheme dates back to 2014, when Mr Adams became Brooklyn borough president, prosecutors added, and that the illegal contributions helped finance his 2021 campaign for mayor.

He faces five criminal charges and could be sentenced to decades in prison if found guilty.

Turkey's foreign ministry, president's office and embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr Adams, a former police officer who rose to the rank of captain, is the first of New York's 110 mayors to be charged with a federal crime while in office.

The United States' largest city has been in a state of political upheaval for the past month as senior officials were under federal investigation.

The police commissioner resigned on 12 September after FBI agents seized his phone. Days later, Mr Adams' top legal adviser stepped down.

A number of prominent city officials and politicians, including Mr Adams' party colleague, House of Representative member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have called on him to resign.

But two powerful Democrats from Brooklyn - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries - stopped short of doing so.

Mr Adams could be removed from office by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, but the process is complicated, according to Pace University Law School Professor Bennett Gershman.

Ms Hochul issued a statement saying that she would "review" her "options and obligations as the Governor of New York."

"I expect the Mayor to take the next few days to review the situation and find an appropriate path forward to ensure the people of New York City are being well-served by their leaders," she added.

According to the indictment, Mr Adams accepted free travel from a Turkish airline worth tens of thousands of dollars while serving as Brooklyn borough president and paid $600 to stay two nights at a luxury suite in the St Regis Hotel in Istanbul, well below the actual cost of $7,000.

Prosecutors said that he would fly on the Turkish airline even when it was inconvenient.

"You know first stop is always Istanbul," he wrote in a 2017 text message when his partner expressed surprise that they were flying from New York to Paris through Istanbul.

For his 2021 mayoral campaign, Mr Adams disguised campaign contributions from Turkish sources by funnelling them through US citizens, the indictment said.

Those funds allowed him to qualify for an additional $10 million in public financing, according to the indictment.

US law forbids foreign contributions to American political campaigns.

Prosecutors say that Mr Adams responded to Turkish concerns.

Acting on a request by a diplomat from Turkish, the mayor pressured city safety inspectors to allow the country's new consulate to open in time for a September 2021 visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, even though it would have failed a fire inspection, the indictment said.

After repeated messages about the building from Mr Adams, a senior fire department official allegedly told a subordinate that he would lose his job if he did not allow the consulate to open, according to prosecutors.

The mayor notified the diplomat when the fire department approved the building to open later in the day, the indictment said.

"You are a true friend of Turkey," the diplomat allegedly responded.