We go.

We are the United States Attorney here in the Southern District of New York.

Today we are announcing campaign finance, bribery, and conspiracy charges against Eric Adams,

the mayor of New York City.

As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited

and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations.

As we allege, Mayor Adams took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal.

And even though he knew these contributions were attempts by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him. We also allege that the mayor sought and accepted well over $100,000 in luxury travel benefits

from some of the same foreign actors who arranged many of the illegal campaign contributions.

These benefits included free international business class flights and opulent hotel rooms in foreign cities.

The mayor had a duty to disclose these gifts on his annual public disclosure forms so that the public could see who was giving him what.

But as we allege, year after year after year, he kept the public in the dark.

He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them.

We allege that Adams accepted these benefits knowing that they were given to him because of his position.

And in exchange for some of those improper benefits, he intervened in the New York City Fire Department's inspection process for a building owned and operated by the Turkish government, allowing it to open even though it had not passed the fire inspection.

The corruption alleged in the indictment is, as I said, long running. As we allege in the indictment, Adams' solicitation

of illegal campaign contributions began in 2018. After he started raising funds for his 2021 mayoral

campaign, he agreed to take contributions offered by multiple Turkish businessmen, several of whom he

met in Turkey. Adams knew that these wealthy individuals

could not legally donate in a U.S. election. Federal law clearly prohibits foreign donations.

That's how we protect our elections from foreign influence. Yet Adams directed his staff

to pursue this illegal money to support his campaign for mayor.

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