Investigations into the Eric Adams administration
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New York City Police Department 110th Mayor of New York City |
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There have been several investigations into the Eric Adams administration since he became Mayor of New York City in 2022.
Chief among these investigations was the federal prosecution of Eric Adams overseen by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York that resulted in the criminal indictment of Adams in September 2024. This indictment charges Adams with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States; one count of wire fraud; two counts of soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals; and one count of soliciting and accepting a bribe. On October 8, Adams's former Chief Liaison to the Muslim Community Mohamed Bahi, who had resigned the day prior, was arrested and charged with witness tampering and destruction of evidence in connection with Adams's indictment and the investigation of illegal contributions made to Adams's mayoral campaign.
Law enforcement interest in a wide swath of Adams's City Hall led to a number of unscheduled departures from the administration before Adams's indictment. The New York City Department of Investigation and New York County District Attorney arrested Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich in 2023 for an alleged bribery scheme, forcing him to leave the administration. He awaits trial in New York Supreme Court. A set of raids by IRS Criminal Investigation in 2024 led to the resignation of Police Commissioner Edward Caban. Similar warrant seizures of phones by the Federal Bureau of Investigation preceded the resignation of Schools Chancellor David C. Banks and his brother, Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III.
As the charges have mounted, dozens of New York elected officials have called for Adams to resign. Under the New York City Charter, the New York State Governor holds the power to suspend the Mayor for 30 days and ultimately remove him. Governor Kathy Hochul has so far declined to exercise this right or call for Adams's resignation, saying that, "It's now up to Mayor Adams to show the City that he is able to lead," while under indictment. The charter also contains language to remove a mayor via a never-before-used Inability Committee, consisting of the city's corporation counsel, comptroller, council speaker, senior borough president, and one deputy mayor. It would take four votes to start the process of removing the mayor – temporarily or permanently – which he could dispute, and would still need to pass the full council. On February 17, 2025, comptroller Brad Lander released a public letter to Mayor Adams threatening to convene a meeting of the Inability Committee if Adams does not "develop and present a detailed contingency plan outlining how you intend to manage the City of New York."
Adams calls the charges "entirely false, based on lies", and has vowed to fight the charges. Adams and his defenders maintain the charges are retaliation for his opposing the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the migrant crisis.
On February 10, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) instructed federal prosecutors to drop charges against Adams. On February 13, 2025, the interim United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Renee Sassoon, resigned after refusing to drop the charges. Kevin Driscoll, the acting head of the DOJ's Criminal Division, and John Keller, the acting head of the DOJ's Public Integrity Section, also resigned in response to the instructions to drop the charges, as did three other prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section. Hagan Scotten, the assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York who had been the lead prosecutor in the case against Adams resigned as well.
In April 2025, the judge presiding over the federal indictment, Dale Ho, dismissed the case against Adams with prejudice, without opining on the merits of the case, as Ho cited inability to force the Justice Department to prosecute.