NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivered his most thorough public defense to date since his indictment on federal bribery charges, insisting the case was a “test” that would not distract him from governing as he deflected specific questions about the investigation for more than an hour Tuesday.
Yet even as the mayor began to address reporters alone beneath the City Hall rotunda, a potential witness in one of the sprawling investigations was wrapping up his his own news briefing steps away, complaining he had been the victim of a corrupt “shakedown.”
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The whiplash-inducing morning at City Hall reflected the deepening tumult that has gripped the Democrat's administration in recent weeks, raising questions about whether Adams can continue managing the nation’s largest city while shuttling between court appearances and contending with an exodus of top deputies.
As he stepped to the podium, a smiling Adams began his comments with a favorite quip: “This is going in my book.”
But if he was seeking to convey his signature swagger, the mayor also appeared evasive and isolated. Adams typically enters his Tuesday briefings accompanied by triumphant walk-on music and a phalanx of deputies, including his chief legal counsel. But his top lawyer recently resigned. On Monday night, one of his closest advisors also stepped down. Another was served with a federal subpoena on Friday.
This time he was alone. While Adams spoke extensively to reporters, he declined to answer questions about the laws he is accused of breaking, whether his security clearance has been downgraded as a result of the criminal case and if he really believes — as he has repeatedly suggested — that the investigation is politically motivated.
Instead, the mayor framed himself as a battle-tested executive, confident in his ability to overcome the “obstacles.”
“As the case unfolds, some people are going to say, ‘You know what, we have jumped the gun on Eric Adams,' ” he said. “This is a test for folks who automatically just come with their hearts in one way. The information is going to continue to show that I do not break laws.”
Federal prosecutors have accused Adams of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign contributions and more than $100,000 in luxury travel perks from Turkish officials and other foreign nationals seeking to buy his influence.
In exchange, they say he performed official favors that benefited Turkey, including pushing through the opening of a consulate building in Manhattan over the objections of fire safety officials who said it was unsafe to occupy.
The charges against Adams come as federal investigators conduct multiple probes linked to several top officials in his administration, including the brother of his former police commissioner; a consulting firm run by another brother of his schools chancellor and deputy mayor for public safety; and one of his top advisors and closest confidantes, Tim Pearson.
Pearson resigned Monday night, weeks after the police commissioner, Edward Caban, and schools chancellor, David Banks, announced they were stepping down. All have denied wrongdoing.
Outside City Hall, the owner of a Brooklyn juice bar and nightspot, Shamel Kelly, held his own news conference Tuesday saying he had been the victim of a corrupt scheme involving a mayoral aide and the police department.
Seeking help with a raft of noise complaints, Kelly said he was connected by a City Hall staffer to the owner of a nightlife security business, who told him he could make the complaints go away for a price. Kelly said he later learned the security company was run by James Caban, the twin brother of the former police commissioner.
“I felt like I was being extorted,” Kelly told reporters. He provided a video showing dozens of officers just outside the door of his Coney Island business for one of the alleged noise complaints, which Kelly’s attorneys said had been provided to federal prosecutors.
A lawyer for James Caban, Sean Hecker, has said his client “unequivocally denies any wrongdoing.”
Adams said he was unaware of the allegations, which were first reported weeks ago, but that “no one should treat a business owner unfairly in any way.”
Surrounded by signs detailing his policy accomplishments, Adams then ticked through his own experience of adversity, invoking his troubled childhood in working-class Queens and his struggles with dyslexia and diabetes that nearly left him blind.
“I’ve been dealing with difficult moments throughout my entire life, and in spite of all those difficult moments, I’m called the mayor of the city of New York,” he said.
Later in the evening, Adams joined a group of Black clergy leaders for a prayer circle outside City Hall, accompanied by his top advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, whose home was also searched by investigators Friday.
“You don't give up during hard times, you step up during hard times,” Adams said, as his allies chanted “four more years” and showered the mayor with “hallelujahs.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the ability to remove the mayor from office, said this week that she is giving Adams a chance to show he can continue to run the city as his criminal case plays out.
As Adams sought to make his political case, his attorneys were busy ramping up their legal defense.
In a court filing Tuesday, lawyers for Adams asked a judge to investigate leaks to the media from prosecutors and, if confirmed, to levy appropriate remedies, including dismissal of the indictment.
That filling came one day after his attorney requested a judge toss the bribery charge — one of five counts he faces — arguing the details of the alleged conduct don't meet the threshold of a quid pro quo.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan declined comment.
Adams is due back in court on Wednesday morning.