New York Mayor Adams met with a judge at the federal court in Lower Manhattan on Friday (September 27). He pleaded “not guilty” to all five charges laid out against him in the unsealed indictment the day before, in which he is accused of receiving $123,000 in lavish gifts such as free plane tickets and hotel stays while in office, and “fraudulently obtaining” $10 million in election campaign funds.
Around 12:30 p.m., Mayor Adams, accompanied by his defense lawyer Alex Spiro, walked out of the court with a serious expression, occasionally giving a thumbs up and waving to bystanders. Standing in front of the media cameras that had been waiting all morning, Adams remained silent as his lawyer addressed the public with a summary of their hearing.
“The mayor has entered a plea of not guilty, he is innocent,” Spiro said. “The second thing that happened in court today is that we informed the court that we will be filing a motion to dismiss the case next week, we expect these charges to be dismissed.”
Spiro went on to draw parallels between Adams’ case and that of former New York Deputy Governor Benjamin, stating that they both faced similar baseless accusations from the same prosecutors, with Benjamin’s case ultimately being dismissed. “This case is not a real case, it’s a corruption case based on airline upgrades,” he added. “The third thing we are saying is that we demand the prosecution to submit exculpatory information and evidence to the court next Wednesday.”
Spiro pointed out that the prosecution’s evidence comes from a witness who initially stated that the mayor was unaware of the situation. However, this initial evidence was not presented to the court or the public, according to the lawyer.
“They (the prosecution) insinuated that he (Adams) let people down, or people should be disappointed in him,” the lawyer said. “But this is not what he did, it’s another government’s attempt to make everyone disappointed in him through this case against the current mayor.”
Following other media reports, the judge ordered Adams not to have any contact with individuals or witnesses mentioned in the indictment, with the warning that “if you fail to appear in court, an arrest warrant will be issued against you.”
Hours before the court hearing, Adams voluntarily surrendered himself to the FBI at the federal courthouse in downtown Manhattan. The day before, an explosive indictment with five charges, including wire fraud, bribery, two counts of accepting campaign donations from foreign nationals, and conspiracy, was unsealed against him.
Prosecutors stated that if he were convicted solely on the most serious charge of wire fraud, he could face up to 20 years in federal prison.