Eric Adams pleads not guilty
Eric Adams pled not guilty to his five-count felony indictment during his arraignment at noon this past Friday, Sept. 27, kicking off the first criminal trial of a sitting New York City mayor. The court appearance ran for around 20 minutes. Adams had arrived at the courthouse by 8:45 a.m in response to his summons. He faces a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.
The charges allege seeking and accepting improper gifts and donations from a foreign national, a Turkish official to be specific. Such favors were allegedly cashed in on just months before he took office by pressuring the fire department to facilitate the opening of a 36-story consulate building without an inspection — one the skyscraper would have allegedly failed.
Dressed in charcoal gray suit and red tie, Adams spoke sparingly in court, mostly to acknowledge his rights to Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker and to plead not guilty. His lawyer Alex Spiro agreed to the prosecutors’ proposed conditional release, which stipulated that he could not contact witnesses. Spiro was aware of “one key witness” who Adams should not contact. The prosecution will provide a list of the others.
However, exceptions were made for Adams to communicate with family members and City Hall staff as long as they did not discuss the case. He now embarks on an unprecedented balancing act between a criminal trial and governing as New York City mayor.
Adams will return to court next week on Wednesday, Oct. 2, which will be presided over by District Judge Dale Ho, who once directed the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.
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