Sources: Grand jury indicts New York Mayor Eric Adams in historic federal investigation

Sources told the Washington Post that Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by a grand jury on charges related to a federal investigation that has rocked his administration.

The historic indictment against the first sitting mayor of New York City is set to be unveiled by US Attorney Damian Williams on Thursday, according to sources. The New York Times first reported on this.

According to sources, Adams will turn himself in to authorities early next week.

“I always knew that if I spoke out for New Yorkers, I would be a target – and I have been,” Adams said in a statement to The Washington Post.

“If I am accused, I am innocent and I will fight against it with all my strength and determination.”

A representative of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, which is prosecuting the case, declined to comment.

The exact details of the allegations are still unclear, but sources say they are related to allegations that the Turkish government illegally pumped money into his mayoral campaign.

It is also unclear how the charges are linked to a series of raids on Sept. 4 in which several high-ranking officials in the Adams administration were assaulted. In the aftermath, City Hall was thrown into turmoil for weeks as news reports began to cover investigations focused on alleged corruption in the mayor’s inner circle.

By Wednesday morning, news had spread that a “high-ranking” City Hall official would soon be charged, sending staff into a panic throughout the day, insiders say.

The release of the indictment comes after federal prosecutors recently asked City Hall to disclose all communications between the Adams administration, Turkey and five other countries as part of the lengthy investigation.

Sources told the Washington Post that Adams’ 2021 campaign team had previously received subpoenas requesting information about his campaign donations – particularly those with ties to Türkiye.

Extensive requests for records followed in July in the form of a series of subpoenas demanding details of all interactions between government officials and Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, the sources added.

That same month, Adams, City Hall and his campaign committee also received grand jury subpoenas, resulting in federal authorities seizing text messages, documents and other communications and materials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York had remained tight-lipped about the investigation since it came to light last November with a dramatic raid on the Brooklyn home of well-known Adams fundraiser Brianna Suggs.

Follow the latest news on FBI raids on Adams administration officials:

The raid – which sought evidence of bribes from the Turkish government and Williamsburg-based construction company KSK Construction Group to fake donors to Adams’ mayoral campaign – prompted Hizzoner to rush back from a high-profile White House meeting on the refugee crisis.

Federal authorities then searched the homes of City Hall employee Rana Abbasova and Cenk Ocal, a former Turkish Airlines executive who had worked on Adams’ transition team.

A week later, Adams’ own phones and iPad were seized by FBI agents on the streets of Manhattan.

Meanwhile, in February, the home of another employee, Winnie Greco, in the Bronx was raided by FBI agents. However, it was not clear at the time whether this was connected to the investigation in Turkey.

His husband has long denied any wrongdoing.

“It takes a lot of discipline to say nothing when you know you have done nothing wrong,” Adams said in August when asked about the investigation into the mayoral campaign.

According to New York City historical research, this is the first time in 170 years that a city mayor has been indicted.

Every recent mayor, from David Dinkins to Bill de Blasio, has been investigated for corruption in some form, but all of these investigations have ended, at worst, with lower-level officials being charged.

As is well known, former mayor Jimmy Walker resigned in 1932 during the investigation against him, but no charges were ever brought against him.

The explosive charges come amid a spate of other federal investigations into City Hall and Big Apple officials that have recently come to light in a series of astonishing raids on Histoner’s top deputies, closest political allies and most trusted aides.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are behind many of these investigations. But, as with the investigation into the mayoral election campaign, they remain silent about the goals, possible charges and the possible interconnection of the investigations.

To date, no one has been charged or accused of wrongdoing in the other investigations.

Additional reporting by Joe Marino