New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he would not resign if faced with more criminal charges in addition to the corruption case currently against him, adding that he is still aiming to win reelection to City Hall’s top position.
Speculation has built that Adams could buckle under the pressure of the litany of charges against him as many members of his administration have resigned or face charges themselves.
“I am going to serve my term and run for the election,” Adams told reporters during his weekly briefing. “I think when both sides of this come out, people are going to have a second look at this entire event that’s taking place,” he said, referring to his criminal case.
Adams faced a new wave of media heat Tuesday as First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright resigned. Several other members of Adams’s administration have already stepped down.
Adams’s aide, Mohamed Bahi, was indicted on charges of destroying evidence related to his corruption investigation, in which he was indicted on charges that he “abused his position” to the benefit of Turkish nationals, who then gave him bribes in return. If convicted, he faces decades in prison.
If Adams gets the chance to run for reelection in 2025, he’ll face a steep hill to return to the mayor’s office. A recent poll showed nearly 70% of New York City residents think he should resign, and only 26% approve of his job performance.
Several candidates for his job have already lined up to campaign, including city comptroller Brad Lander and Democratic State senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos. There have also been rumors that former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo could jump in the race if Adams chooses not to run or resigns.
Additional charges may be coming for Adams and other defendants, according to a federal prosecutor’s statement to a judge last week.
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“There are several related investigations here,” Hagan Cordell Scotten, a prosecutor with the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, said.
One problem is Adams said he “forgot” his phone password after he changed it, and authorities have yet to be able to crack it. The phone could contain information vital to the investigation.