Mayor Eric Adams’ legal professionals mounted a determined Eleventh-hour bid to quash the legal expenses towards him — together with by arguing to the feds that his historic prosecution could be ruinous for town.
A behind-the-scenes Sept. 12 missive — completely obtained by The Submit — was despatched from Adams’ authorized group to Manhattan prosecutors earlier than the historic federal indictment towards Hizzoner was unveiled Thursday and gives an in depth glimpse into the mayor’s protection.
The feds’ case — primarily based on accusations that Adams accepted bribes and unlawful straw donations to his 2021 mayoral marketing campaign from Turkish nationals — is on flimsy authorized floor, particularly after a latest US Supreme Court docket ruling that considerably narrows what counts as a bribe, the mayor’s legal professionals argued within the letter.
Such supposedly shaky prosecution wouldn’t solely be ruinous for Adams’ profession but additionally detrimental for New York Metropolis and the 750,000 voters who put him into Gracie Mansion, they argued.
“We urge the Division to say no prosecution of Eric Adams within the pursuits of justice,” the legal professionals wrote.
A stone-faced Adams pleaded not responsible Friday in Manhattan federal court docket to a slew of corruption expenses, starting from bribery to conspiracy to wire fraud.
His legal professionals’ last-ditch push to attempt to head off what’s shaping up as an unprecedented legal trial occurred within the weeks earlier than.
Within the latest letter, Adams’ legal professionals bemoaned their restricted, one-way exchanges with prosecutors from US Lawyer Damian Williams’ Southern District of New York workplace throughout the 10 months since federal brokers started dramatically raiding the mayor’s allies’ properties and seized his digital units, in response to the letter.
As soon as Williams approved bribery and campaign-finance-violation expenses, Adams’ group went into overdrive to undercut the accusations — arguing prosecutors had did not determine the legally essential precise quid professional quo.
The feds contend that Adams — after raking in additional than $100,000 of journey perks corresponding to business-class flight upgrades and luxurious lodge stays — returned the favors of overseas officers together with by pushing FDNY officers to permit a 36-story skyscraper housing the Turkish consulate to open and not using a fireplace inspection.
However Adams’ legal professionals contended that scenario fails to fulfill the definition of quid professional quo bribery.
The Supreme Court docket had lately set a excessive, slim bar for what counts as bribery — requiring a direct line between a bribe and motion by an elected official, the legal professionals argued.
Adams’ years of flight upgrades and different perks from Turkish nationals don’t depend as a “quid” provided that the alleged “quo” — the greased fireplace inspection on the Turkey tower — was for a overseas official who didn’t maintain his put up till afterward, the letter contends.
The argument echoes one which tanked the primary public corruption case towards former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who was left off the hook in 2015 when a choose tossed the expenses on the premise that prosecutors failed to point out an express quid professional quo.
However prosecutors working underneath Williams, who’s pursuing the case towards Adams, apparently discovered their lesson after they pursued a separate, new bribery case towards Menendez.
Menendez was convicted in July in no small half as a result of prosecutors confirmed the $150,000 value of gold bars present in his bed room have been an express bribe from overseas governments for favors.
Adams’ group argued of their letter that his flight upgrades from Turkish Airways have been par the course to encourage VIP journey on the airline and that New York Metropolis hadn’t even executed enterprise with the provider.
“There isn’t a proof that the Mayor accepted upgrades aspiring to be influenced in any method, a lot much less relating to completely unrelated constituent service-driven help with a allow problem,” the letter argues. “Upgrades as a quid additionally fail as a result of receipt of complimentary flight and lodge upgrades in reference to private journey didn’t violate New York Metropolis ethics guidelines.”
The mayor’s authorized group continued to attempt to undercut the federal case by taking goal on the feds’ “key witness,” Rana Abbassova, who served as Adams’ liaison to the Turkish neighborhood and organized a lot of the journey cited within the indictment.
The letter additionally argues that the alleged straw donations to Adams’ marketing campaign from Turkish nationals have been a minuscule a part of his whole haul. The then-Brooklyn borough president didn’t know of any overseas donations and had even warned his employees towards accepting any, it contends.
“The marketing campaign obtained greater than $10 million in contributions from greater than 15,000 contributors, and there was no incentive to conspire to obtain corrupt contributions in the summertime of 2021,” the letter states. “The Mayor repeatedly educated his marketing campaign employees to not settle for overseas donations, the donations recognized by SDNY represent roughly 0.4% of the general funds raised, and he had no cause to suspect any overseas donations have been the truth is being made.”
Adams’ legal professionals closed the letter by arguing the Southern District’s case towards former New York Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin was a “cautionary story.”
A choose tossed bribery raps towards Benjamin that have been primarily based on accusations he accepted marketing campaign contributions from an actual property developer in trade for steering state funds to a nonprofit the donor managed.
Federal appellate judges later reinstated the fees, discovering they have been an “express quid professional quo,” prompting an attraction earlier than the Supreme Court docket.
“Whatever the final result of the attraction, Brian Benjamin’s political profession has ended,” the letter states. “An identical destiny would face Mayor Adams if he have been charged right here primarily based on proof that’s far much less compelling.”