Calls for the resignation of Democratic Mayor of New York Eric Adams are increasing, including in his own camp, after his indictment for facts related to the financing of his electoral campaign. This is a first in the history of the largest American city.
It was the New York Times which revealed it Wednesday evening: Eric Adams was indicted in an investigation by the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office into the financing of his victorious campaign in 2021.
The newspaper did not specify the precise reasons, but the 64-year-old mayor has been the target of an investigation for several months on accusations of illegal donations from construction companies linked to Turkey. Construction companies in Ankara have reportedly paid money in exchange for a permit to erect a huge skyscraper housing the Turkish mission to the UN.
Eric Adams “told the public that he did not receive any gifts, even though he was secretly showered with them,” Manhattan District Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Thursday. The mayor has crossed “bright red lines” for years and “other people will have to be held accountable” in the investigation against him, he added.
Multiple cases
The announcement of the indictment comes after the resignation of several close to the mayor in recent days, including the police chief, just one year after his arrival at the head of the NYPD. And the pressure was further increased on Wednesday, even before this announcement, when the elected representative of New York to the House of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Eric Adams to resign “for the good of the city”.
Eric Adams, however, said he was “innocent” on Wednesday evening, believing he had “become a target” because of his “defense of the interests of New Yorkers”. “If I am charged […] I will fight with all my strength and spirit,” he added.
New York City Hall has seen business increase in recent months. At least four federal investigations are underway, including three led by the Manhattan prosecutor’s office, targeting the mayor and his relatives. The FBI even seized his cell phones and searched the homes of some members of his team.
>> Read: New York mayor’s phones seized by FBI agents
Unpopularity
Eric Adams won the 2021 Democratic primary on the promise of reducing crime, which had skyrocketed in New York during the Covid pandemic. If crime has indeed fallen since his election, the cost of living has increased and the immense metropolis is affected, like others, by the housing crisis.
At the end of 2023, his popularity rate had fallen to its lowest, to 28% in a poll. In this context, several rivals have declared themselves candidates for a party primary in 2025.
jop with agencies
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