It’s Going to Be Hard for Eric Adams to Swagger His Way Out of This Mess

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on four federal charges, including bribery, wire fraud, and solicitation of foreign donations. indictment It was unsealed this morning by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The indictment alleges that Adams was bribed by Turkish nationals when he was just a Brooklyn borough president, and that the foreign actors believed they were helping to corrupt a future American president. is.

Fundamentally, Mr. Adams is alleged to have violated a very clear and fundamental law. The allegation is that he knowingly received campaign funds from foreigners. American politicians are not allowed to accept funds from foreign parties. This is for the obvious reason that such donations may expose politicians to foreign influence. Adams accepted money from Turkish citizens to run for mayor of Istanbul instead of New York City. And when Turkish nationals needed help, like when they were trying to get their consulate up and running without passing basic fire safety inspections, Adams was by their side, fire chief He is said to have pressured the building into closing without conducting a full fire safety inspection. inspection.

Adams did this deliberately, which is a key point in prosecuting this type of crime. Much of the evidence presented in the indictment comes from Adams’ own text messages or those of his staff. Adams and his co-conspirators appear to have been fooled by the false gospel of “delete,” thinking that deleting a text message would actually make it disappear. At one point, Adams and his staff had the following exchange:

[T]Adams Stuffer texted Adams:[n the]As a safety measure, please delete any messages you send me. ” Adams replied, “I always do that.”

In another criminal scene, an Adams staff member voluntarily spoke to the FBI, but the indictment alleges she went to the bathroom during a meeting and “hidden the encrypted messaging application she was using to communicate with ADAMS.” “deleted.” This is evidence not just of incompetence, but of remorse. Adams and his staff knew what they were doing was wrong.

What should really anger New Yorkers is that Adams did this to defraud New York by gaining access to public funds. New York City has a system where small donations to political campaigns can be “matched” up to $2,000 by city taxpayers. Adams didn’t just receive money from foreign investors. He also structured those payments (through a series of “straw men” – American citizens and green card holders who donated to Adams and were subsequently reimbursed by Turkish citizens) to make them eligible for public matching funds. I tried to make it a small enough amount. So, for example, a $10,000 donation from a Turkish university was split into multiple $2,000 payments, all of which were subject to public matching funds.

In a video statement released last night, Mr Adams denied all of the allegations and called them “lies”. However, “lies” are not a legal defense. When Adams has to defend himself in court rather than in court. law and order This episode is playing in his head. His most likely defense would be to say he didn’t know where the money came from and blame his staff for soliciting illegal campaign contributions.

The problem with this defense will be the fact that Adams did not just accept money from Turkish citizens for campaign purposes. He also took many trips and vacations around the world, paid for by distant benefactors. There’s a particularly hilarious exchange between Adams’ staff and the Turkish representative responsible for booking Adams’ free or discounted travel, and it’s too perfect not to share.

On June 22, 2021, ADAMS, through Adams staff, requested the airline manager to book a flight to Istanbul for ADAMS. To hide the favorable treatment, Adams’ staff required airline managers to charge Adams what they believed to be the “real” price.

Adams Staff: How much does he owe? Let me call you. I’ll pay.

Airline Manager: It’s last minute so it’s very expensive. We are running a discount campaign

Adams Staff: Okay. thank you.

Airline Manager: I will charge you $50.

…

Adams Staff: No.

Airline Manager: That would work.

Adams Stuffer: No, you. 50 dollars? what? We will give you a fair price.

Airline Manager: How much should I charge? 🙂

Adams Stuffer: Now his every move is being watched. About $1,000. Let’s be somewhat realistic. We don’t want them to say he’s flying for free. Currently, the media’s attention is on Eric.

Ms. Adams paid about $1,100 each for round-trip economy tickets for herself and Adams’ partner on Turkish Airlines, and was immediately upgraded to business class for free. If ADAMS had purchased the business class ticket on the open market, it would have cost more than $15,000 in total.

The indictment contains such details. It would be very difficult for Mr. Adams to argue that he did not know that he was flying business class even though he had purchased an economy class ticket.

Prosecutors don’t need to show what Adams’ Turkish patrons got out of the arrangement, but it appears that in addition to the fire inspector’s job, what they’re buying is influence. Those who funneled money to Adams seemed to genuinely believe that he would someday become a major political figure, perhaps President of the United States. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says jealously of President Vladmir Putin’s complete ownership of Donald Trump: “I have to get one of those, too.” I can imagine that.

Although it is reassuring to know that foreign criminals seeking to influence our elections do not have great political foresight; Nate Silver, Brett Stevensor wall street journalit’s disturbing to see how it’s going a bit It could buy the mayor of one of the richest cities on earth. On the face of the indictment, Adams sold himself and his city for airline tickets, luxury hotel rooms, and millions of dollars in campaign contributions. Although Adams is a self-described “arrogant,” he turns out to be a relatively cheap date. Former New York Mayors Jimmy Walker and John Lindsay must be rolling in their gilded graves.

Of course, Mr. Adams is now entitled to the best defense Turkey can afford, and the legal process will take place over the next year or so. It will be interesting to see how much Adams borrows from prosecution king Donald Trump’s playbook. He has already said he was indicted for defending New Yorkers, a play on President Trump’s famous “They’re chasing me to get to you” line. be. I think we’re going to get a “legal violation” complaint from Adams’ team.

Of course, what keeps Trump out of prison is not his legal claims, but the arrest of six Republican justices on the Supreme Court. I don’t know if Adams has such an ace. U.S. District Judge Dale Ho will preside over the trial, which is interesting because Ho is a former director of the ACLU. Adams (Democrat) nabbed one of the most liberal judges…let’s see how it goes for him.

If Adams faces a conviction, he will likely appeal, which could be heard by the Republican-controlled Supreme Court. vote in favor Public bribery and corruption. But I don’t think six conservatives would step in to save Adams, even if he claims his Turkish friends were only paying him “gratuities” for public service. I know Supreme Court justices like free travel, but organizing overseas campaign contributions to gain access to public matching funds should be a bridge too far for them, too.

Adams’ best legal option may be to go full MAGA, hope Trump is elected in November, and ask for a pardon. It has worked in the past for people like disgraced Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who received a presidential pardon. President Trump also pardoned aide Paul Manafort, who was convicted of spreading foreign influence. Adams also happens to be black, and we know President Trump thinks pardoning a black man who has kissed his ass enough counts as “outreach” to the black community.

If Trump loses in November, Adams will likely have to climb the Bosphorus without a paddle. The mayor and his team were clearly very sloppy in their communication, so it shouldn’t be difficult for prosecutors to prevail if Adams doesn’t hire Judge Trump to defend him.

Of course, Adams should resign as mayor and focus on what legal defense he can muster. But I don’t expect that from him. New Yorkers made a terrible choice as mayor, and now Adams will force them to keep that choice alive until the end of his term.

Speaking of terrible choices New Yorkers have made… Rudy Giuliani was disbarred today (again). People willing to pay $5,000 a month for a junkyard-sized one-bedroom in Kips Bay are starting to wonder if they’re not making a wise decision.