New York Mayor Eric Adams, who faces corruption charges, filed a motion on Monday challenging the bribery charge against him as “extraordinarily vague” and unsupported by substantial evidence.
Federal prosecutors accuse Adams, in part, of accepting over $100,000 in luxury travel from Turkish officials and, in 2021, pressuring the New York City Fire Department to expedite a safety inspection of a new Turkish Consulate. Adams asked U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, an appointee of President Joe Biden, to dismiss “Count V of the Indictment.”
Defense attorney Alex Spiro argued that the indictment against the mayor fails to prove Adams performed any official act in exchange for the perks, as is required for a bribery charge.
“It alleges only that while serving as Brooklyn Borough President, he agreed generally to assist with the ‘operation’ or ‘regulation’ of the Turkish Consulate, where he had no authority,” Spiro, a celebrity lawyer who helped Alec Baldwin get his manslaughter charges dropped, wrote in the filing.
The defense also contended that Adams’s actions, such as sending three messages to the fire commissioner, fall within the normal and lawful activities that any city official might undertake for a foreign consulate.
Overall, the defense filing argued that federal law necessitates a clear promise to perform an official act in exchange for a benefit for the conduct to qualify as bribery.
In Adams’s case, the allegations are too vague, according to Spiro, who said the indictment doesn’t directly link the benefits, such as travel perks, to any specific government action. Instead, the defense said the actions described, such as offering general help to foreign diplomats, are routine for public officials and don’t meet the legal standard for bribery.
Adams was arraigned on Friday and pleaded not guilty to five charges, which include bribery and soliciting illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals. Spiro is seeking to dismiss all five counts, arguing they do not meet the legal standards for criminal activity.
Republicans and Democrats are calling for Adams to resign, although some conservatives have raised questions about the timing of the federal investigation coming so soon after the mayor’s aggressive tone against Biden’s immigration policies.
The mayor spent his Sunday speaking to a congregation of the Emmanuel Presbyterian Reformed Church in the borough of the Bronx, according to the New York Post, where he reiterated his vows to remain in office.
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“God placed me in this moment and placed in my heart to continue to move this city forward,” Adams said. “I’m not going to resign. I’m going to reign.”
Adams is expected to return to court on Wednesday, where he will appear before the district judge for the first time since the indictment came down last week.