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New York Mayor Eric Adams arrived Friday at federal court in Manhattan to surrender to authorities after federal prosecutors announced a five-count indictment on fraud, bribery and corruption charges.
Adams appeared before the judge shortly after 12 p.m. and pleaded not guilty.
The FBI seized Adams’ phone on Thursday before the charges were made public, according to his attorney, but he was not immediately taken into custody.
The mayor, 64, is accused of soliciting illegal campaign donations from foreign entities and falsifying paper trails to cover it up, according to a 57-page indictment unsealed Thursday. As part of the plot, he allegedly defrauded taxpayers for $10 million over the past decade and frequently took free or steeply discounted vacations bankrolled by his foreign benefactors.
Adams countered with a video statement saying any charges filed against him would be “entirely false, based on lies,” and insinuated that his criticism of the Biden administration’s disastrous border policies made him a target for retaliation.
“The federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief,” he said in a video statement. “I put the people of New York before party and politics.”
Investigators denied the claim that the case was political retaliation during a Thursday news briefing.
Later, Adams held a news briefing alongside prominent supporters who asked for the public to allow due process to play out. Hecklers interrupted with a megaphone.
The mayor is accused of one count of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals and commit wire fraud and bribery, one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals, and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe.
He could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
