New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges

New York Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges from prosecutors in the Southern District of New York as early as Thursday, two sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday night.

The charges were not immediately clear. Spokespeople for the FBI and the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.

In a statement released Wednesday night, Adams said: “I always knew that if I stood up for New Yorkers, I would become a target, and that is what I became. If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with all my might and spirit.”

The Adams administration was already reeling from a series of high-level resignations amid at least four federal investigations.

Adams, 64, a former New York police captain and Brooklyn borough president, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

One of the investigations is believed to focus on whether Adams’ mayoral campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources. As part of that investigation, the FBI last year searched a Brooklyn home belonging to Adams’ top fundraiser.

Federal investigators have also been looking into whether Adams pressured the city’s fire commissioner to approve a new building to house the Turkish Consulate despite safety concerns.

Adams was still Brooklyn borough president when, shortly after winning the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary, he reached out to then-Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, according to people familiar with the matter. Adams encouraged Nigro to evaluate a request from the Turkish government to use the building, which had not yet opened because fire department officials had refused to give approval on the safety of its occupancy.

Adams’ phones were seized as part of the investigation and FBI agents questioned Nigro as a witness at least twice, sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. (Nigro declined to comment.)

This month, federal investigators searched homes and seized phones belonging to several senior officials close to Adams. Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who was among those whose phones were seized, resigned on Sept. 12.

Authorities also seized the phone of Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former police officer who owns a nightclub security business. Federal investigators are looking into whether bars and clubs in midtown Manhattan and Queens paid James Caban to act as a liaison with police and whether those clubs received special treatment from local districts, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Adams administration also faces a public corruption investigation and another federal probe that led to a search of homes belonging to Adams’ former director of Asian affairs.

Before news of the federal charges broke Wednesday, Adams was at a reception at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which was also attended by President Joe Biden. Adams also appeared on local television to answer questions live from New York viewers.

The expected indictment leaves the city government in dire straits, said Douglas Muzzio, a longtime Baruch College political science professor who retired last year.

“Who is in charge? What is the direction of policy?” Muzzio said. “With so many people already resigning, city agencies are, in a sense, directionless.”

Earlier Wednesday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., called for Adams to resign.

“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue to govern New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez said in X. “The avalanche of resignations and vacancies threaten the function of government. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign.”

City Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, also urged Adams to resign.

“Mayor Adams, like all New Yorkers, deserves due process, the presumption of innocence, and his day in court,” Lander said in X. “However, it is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges will require a significant amount of the time and attention necessary to govern this great city. The most appropriate path forward is for him to resign so that New York City can get the full attention its leaders demand.”

But in a videotaped statement released Wednesday night, Adams resisted calls to resign, saying any charges against him would be “completely false, based on lies.”

“Make no mistake,” Adams added, “you elected me to lead this city, and I will lead it.”