New York City mayor Eric Adams has been indicted by federal prosecutors following a months-long corruption probe that has engulfed City Hall and prompted a string of resignations and retirements from high-ranking members of the Democrat’s administration.
The charges against Adams, 64, will be unsealed by the Southern District of New York attorney’s office on Thursday, according to multiple US media reports. It would make him the first modern New York mayor to be indicted while in office.
In a statement, Adams said: “I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became.”
The former police officer, who was elected in 2021 vowing to be tough on crime, added: “If I am charged, I am innocent, and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
In a short video released soon after, Adams said he expected to be charged and that the allegations were “entirely false, based on lies”. He accused investigators of attempting to undermine his credibility.
Adams, a centrist Democrat and former Brooklyn borough president, had campaigned on a law-and-order platform and pledged to crack down on homelessness in New York.
His time in office has been marred by accusations of cronyism, as well as growing criticism of his administration’s haphazard handling of migrants bussed in from the southern border.
Adams has also been facing a corruption investigation involving his 2021 election campaign.
Last year, agents raided the Brooklyn home of his 25-year-old chief campaign fundraiser Brianna Suggs, reportedly as part of a probe into donations from the Turkish state. Adams was stopped on the street soon after by the FBI, who seized his phone and laptop.
A series of other raids, some apparently unrelated to the investigation into the campaign, followed. They targeted the first deputy mayor and deputy mayor for public safety, among others.
This month, New York police commissioner Edward Caban, whose phone was reportedly seized by law enforcement, resigned, saying “the noise around recent developments” had made his work impossible. The home of Caban’s interim replacement was also searched by investigators.
Meanwhile, City Hall was rocked by the resignation of one of its senior lawyers and the unexpected retirement of David Banks, who is in charge of New York’s public school system and whose phones were also seized in the probe.
Adams has consistently claimed he has “nothing to hide” and said he was co-operating with the investigations, while prominent Democrats have called for his resignation.
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined those calls on Wednesday, saying she could “not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City”. Brad Lander, the city comptroller who is also running for mayor, said Adams should step down.
Adams on Wednesday evening was spotted at a reception attended by President Joe Biden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A spokesperson for the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York did not respond to a request for comment.