Eric Adams is Probably Guilty. He Shouldn’t Resign…Yet.
Over the past weeks and months, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his administration have been embroiled in legal scrutiny and controversy. In November 2023, his chief campaign fundraiser had her house raided by federal agents, and, since then, a series of different investigative maneuvers have taken place. Right now, his administration is ravaged by resignations, a complete lack of public faith, and seemingly inevitable defeat in next year’s election. Based on reporting, as well as the federal indictment, the mayor appears to be guilty and perhaps destined for prison. Despite this, however, he should not resign his office, and the growing calls for him to do so are reflective of a growing trend in US politics that presumes that an indictment necessitates guilt. Whether he resigns now or in several months, forcing Adams into a hasty resignation is not worth the dangerous precedent it would set.
Let’s look at the details surrounding the mayor’s indictment. He has been accused of soliciting and accepting campaign contributions, luxury travel perks and accommodations, and other benefits from foreign nationals and Turkish government officials. In return, it is alleged that he provided favors such as pressuring the New York City Fire Department to forgo a fire inspection of a new Turkish consulate. These favors and gifts were not disclosed, and the government alleges that there were concerted efforts to cover up any impropriety, directed by Mr. Adams. He is also accused of violating and circumventing campaign finance laws by disguising foreign donations through so-called straw donors. Additionally, these straw donations were used to then apply for the matching funds program that New York City has for local elections, resulting in $10 million in illicitly obtained public funds. Ultimately, he faces five total charges for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, solicit foreign contributions and accept bribes, wire fraud, solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national, and bribery. The maximum penalty for all the charges combined, if found guilty, would be 45 years in prison.
These charges are damning, and if true, wholeheartedly worthy of prison and resignation. The evidence and specific instances cited appear to be clear evidence of criminal action. One part of the indictment is particularly striking:
On June 22, 2018-the same day as the fundraising event just described- the Adams Staffer and the Promoter discussed by text message a possible trip by ADAMS to Turkey. The Promoter stated, in part, “Fund Raising in Turkey is not legal, but I think I can raise money for your campaign off the record.” The Adams Staffer inquired, “How will [ADAMS] declare that money here?” The Promoter responded, “He won’t declare it … Or … We’ll make the donation through an American citizen in the U.S …. A Turk … I’ll give cash to him in Turkey … Or I’ll send it to an American … He will make a donation to you.” The Adams Staffer replied, “I think he wouldn’t get involved in such games. They might cause a big stink later on,” but “I’ll ask anyways.” The Adams Staffer then asked, “how much do you think would come from you? $?” The Promoter responded, ”Max $100K.” The Adams Staffer wrote, “l00K? Do you have a chance to transfer that here? … We can’t do it while Eric is in Turkey,” to which the Promoter replied, ”Let’s think.” After this conversation, the Adams Staffer asked ADAMS whether the Adams Staffer should pursue the unlawful foreign contributions offered by the Promoter, and contrary to the Adams Staffei-‘s expectations, ADAMS directed that the Adams Staffer pursue the Promoter’s illegal scheme.
Another example in the indictment describes how Adams paid $1,100 for roundtrip economy tickets on Turkish Airlines for himself and his partner, which were immediately upgraded to business class for free. The standard fare for the pair of business class tickets would ordinarily have been over $15,000.
In all likelihood, Mayor Adams is guilty. Corruption allegations have dogged him for years, and the combined efforts of the FBI and SDNY indicate the severity of his crimes. Damian Williams, the US Attorney, has seemingly no political or personal biases in running the largest and most important federal prosecutor’s office in the country. He has successfully brought cases against Sam Bankman-Fried, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Senator Bob Menendez. This is not the work of a small-town DA looking to make a name for themselves. The countless resignations of top administration officials, coupled with the outstanding investigations show most informed, rational people that he is almost certainly a crook.
Despite his seemingly obvious crimes, however, Mayor Adams should not resign. At this moment in time, he is no more or less guilty or corrupt than any other elected official. It is not uncommon, particularly over the past decades, for elected officials to be indicted, particularly for financial crimes. Since 1980, more than two dozen members of Congress have been indicted. But an indictment does not equate to guilt, as evidenced by several cases in the past. In 1993, Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was indicted by a local prosecutor for official misconduct and records tampering. The judge in the case ultimately directed the jury to acquit Hutchison, and she served in the Senate for over twenty years, as well as the US Ambassador to NATO from 2017-2021. In 2005, Representative Tom DeLay of Texas was indicted for money laundering and conspiracy to violate election law. After his initial conviction, the Texas Court of Appeals for the Third District overturned his convictions, with the majority opinion stating that, “Rather than supporting an agreement to violate the election code, the evidence shows that the defendants were attempting to comply with the Election Code limitations on corporate contributions.” The acquittal was then affirmed 8-1 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Perhaps the most powerful and relevant example is the prosecution of Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska. In 2008, Stevens was found guilty of all seven counts of making false statements in his trial related to bribery and corruption allegations. After his conviction, Barack Obama, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, and several other Republican senators called on Stevens to resign. Majority Leader Harry Reid even planned on voting to expel Stevens from the Senate, though Stevens ultimately narrowly lost his re-election campaign. A year later, an FBI whistleblower revealed that prosecutors and the FBI conspired to withhold and conceal evidence that could have led to acquittal. The prosecutors were held in contempt, Attorney General Eric Holder replaced the entire trial team, and the judge threw out the conviction, describing the scandal as one of the worst instances of prosecutorial misconduct he had ever seen.
Indictments do not always lead to guilty verdicts. Especially when leveled against political officials, they should be subject to even greater scrutiny and not automatically assumed to indicate guilt. In recent years, it has become common for indicted politicians to resign almost immediately, before their guilt is assessed in a trial. Are the few months between the indictment and the result of the Mayor’s trial really worth undermining our justice system? He will face voters at the ballot box next year, and have a jury of his peers weigh the evidence in his trial. If convicted, he should face the full force of the law and resign his office immediately. But by viewing indictments as sufficient for resignation, we open a dangerous pandora’s box that only invites and encourages political prosecutions and connotes guilt before trial. If filing an indictment will essentially automatically trigger a resignation, why wouldn’t prosecutors acting in bad faith, on a partisan basis, simply go around attempting to secure indictments against members of the opposite party? The charges and evidence may be flimsy, and a conviction nearly impossible to secure, but if the mere existence of the charges causes resignation, then what would discourage them? New Yorkers deserve a better mayor. But Americans deserve a justice system that rises above party politics and where due process is still respected.
The image featured in this article is licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal