Eric Adams’ lawyers on Monday asked a federal judge to drop part of the New York mayor’s corruption case – insisting that Hizzoner did not accept bribes when he pushed FDNY leaders to accelerate the opening of a Turkish tower.
The quickly filed motion argues that one of the five criminal charges Adams faces — bribery — should be dismissed less than a week after a federal grand jury handed down the explosive indictment.
Adams’ defense team also called the rest of the case brought by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office “meritless” and took shots at former employee Rana Abbasova, who is expected to serve as a key government witness federal.
“Despite the fact that the indictment reproduces quotes from messages, emails and conversations on numerous other matters, it does not allege any specific exchange or conversation during which Adams and the Turkish official concluded this alleged quid pro quo agreement,” his legal team said. wrote, while pointing to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that weakened anti-corruption laws.
Federal prosecutors allege that Adams, as de facto elected mayor, pressured firefighters to rush to open a new 36-story Turkish consular building without a fire inspection in September 2021 in exchange for benefits. free and discounted luxury travel.
The indictment includes messages between Adams and the then-FDNY commissioner and details posh flight upgrades and swanky hotel suite stays that Hizzoner received from Turkish backers dating back to 2016.
The corruption charge that the defense wants to dismiss accuses Adams of accepting bribes for luxury trips in 2021 and 2022 in exchange for supporting the FDNY to pass the Turkish House despite security concerns fire.
Adams is also accused of encouraging Turkish benefactors to pump money into his 2021 campaign through illegal “straw donations” and fraudulently obtaining $10 million in public campaign money.
The first-term mayor has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the case. He also resisted growing calls to resign following the indictment.
The next hearing in the case, which has been assigned to District Judge Dale Ho, is scheduled for Wednesday.
Adams’ attorneys, including high-profile attorney Alex Spiro, said in court papers Monday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office failed to clarify that Adams agreed to accept any gifts specifically in exchange for the exercise of its government influence, calling the allegations “vague.”
The texts sent by Adams urging then-FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro to help ensure that the Turkish Tower is open in time for the Turkish president’s visit are just “harmless” messages that do not constitute what are called “official acts” necessary to file corruption charges, lawyers said.
The motion argued that because Adams was only Brooklyn borough president at the time, he did not have the authority to order the FDNY to take action regarding the Manhattan building.
The former NYPD captain had won the Democratic primary for mayor months earlier and was easily expected to win the November general election against Republican Curtis Sliwa.
“The government actually claims that Adams used his potential future position as mayor to exert pressure on public officials, not the official position he actually held,” the motion states.
“No precedent supports the idea that a candidate for office commits an official act by using their potential future powers to pressure a public official to take action.”
His lawyers also argued that allegations that he received travel allowances during a trip to Ghana after the luxury skyscraper opened may simply amount to “tips”, which they say would not fall within the scope of corruption laws.
The motion accuses prosecutors of attempting to criminalize “common interactions of government officials” and says the indictment “supersedes the ethical rules measured by the brute force of federal criminal law.”
Adams’ lawyers called the rest of the criminal charges “equally baseless,” arguing that they all stemmed from “false statements” from a “self-interested staff member who had agendas to defend.” reference to Abbasova, a former aide and government liaison. Turkish community.
Sources told the Post that Abbasova was cooperating with authorities and was a key witness.
Adams’ attorneys provided no evidence to support their argument against her — saying only that more “will be revealed during the course of the litigation.”
