Grand jury in NYC Mayor Eric Adams investigation has heard from more witnesses
NEW YORK - A grand jury looking into corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has heard from more witnesses, court papers reveal.
It's the latest indication that a superseding indictment against Adams, or others in his orbit, may be in the future.
In a December 24, court filing in which Adams' defense attorneys accused the government of leaking grand jury material to the media, defense attorneys wrote of "a witness who recently testified before the grand jury."
And just earlier this week, prosecutors said in a court filing "law enforcement has continued to identify additional individuals involved in Adams' conduct, and to uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams."
Friday, Brooklyn businessman Erdan Arkan walked out of federal court after pleading guilty to funneling illegal donations to Eric Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign. Arkan reimbursed employees of his construction firm, using them as straw donors, which is illegal.
It's unclear if he will be called as a witness in the case.
It all adds up to more movement in the case, with the possibility of a superseding indictment.
Adams' attorney takes aim at leaks
Meanwhile, Adams' attorneys blasted leaks in the case.
"The government, it seems, has resorted to leaking prejudicial and false grand jury material because its never-ending fishing expedition has yielded nothing new. But that is not surprising: Mayor Adams is innocent," Adams' attorneys wrote. "The government's disclosure of confidential grand jury material in a bid to win this case in the press has irreparably harmed Mayor Adams's defense and eviscerated his presumption of innocence."
"So many leaks have come out of this investigation of, it's hard to keep up with them. The grand jury and other parts of the investigation are supposed to remain secret. I have a great attorney and our attorney, my attorney, Alex Spiro, he's handling the case. And I'm going to just really refer all inquiries to him. We did nothing wrong. I did not break the law. And I will continue to say that to New Yorkers. But my job is to do what I was elected to do, and that's to serve this city and move it forward. And we have accomplished that," Adams said Friday.
Adams has said he feels he was targeted by the government for pushing back against the Biden administrations handling of the migrant crisis.
What is NYC Mayor Eric Adams accused of?
Back in September, Adams was indicted on five counts, including bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations. He has pleaded not guilty on those counts. He could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted.
A judge rejected an effort by Adams' attorneys to get the bribery charge against him dismissed.
Prosecutors allege that, for more than a decade, Adams solicited illegal campaign donations and received undisclosed gifts worth more than $100,000, including flight upgrades on Turkish Airlines and stays luxury hotel suites in Istanbul.
Adams' attorney Alex Spiro has rejected the allegations, saying previously "courtesies to politicians are not federal crimes."
Prosecutors also accused Adams of granting political favors, including allegedly applying pressure to the FDNY to approve a Turkish consulate building despite safety concerns. They also allege Adams' mayoral campaign got access to $10 million in matching public funds after using straw donors for illegal contributions. Adams' campaign for reelection has since been denied access to public matching funds by the Campaign Finance Board.
