Federal agents executed a search warrant Thursday morning at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence, amid reports that Eric Adams is facing indictment.
The New York Times reported that the feds arrived at the historic Upper East Side residence at about 6 a.m. on Sept. 26 in search of material connected to the impending corruption indictment, which has yet to be unsealed.
The raid came hours after news broke that Mayor Adams had been charged in a federal indictment within the Southern District of New York. News website THE CITY, citing sources, reported that Adams will be charged with acting as an unregistered foreign agent for taking official actions after receiving foreign campaign contributions.
Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro, in a published statement, alleged that federal agents created “a spectacle” with the Gracie Mansion raid, claiming that, “They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”
“He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court,” Spiro said of the mayor.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams is expected to announce the indictment at a press conference scheduled for Thursday morning. It is unclear when Mayor Adams would surrender and officially answer to them in court, though it is anticipated that may happen next week.
In a video statement released late Thursday night, a defiant Adams alleged that the expected charges against him were based on lies. He claimed they resulted from him criticizing the federal government amid the migrant crisis. He not only vowed to fight the charges but also rebuffed numerous calls for his resignation from city and state officials.
According to his office, the mayor has no scheduled public events for Thursday. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and city Comptroller Brad Lander, the two citywide officials next in the mayoral line of succession, have canceled all their scheduled events today.
Business in the City Council, meanwhile, is set to go on as planned; the city’s lawmakers have a stated meeting on Thursday afternoon. Speaker Adrienne Adams is scheduled to hold a press conference ahead of the meeting, at 12:30 p.m.
Stay tuned with amNY.com for continued updates on the Mayor Adams indictment.
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