Eric Adams expected to face charges and A's play their last game in Oakland: Morning Rundown
NBCSEP 12 2024
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan indicted NYC Mayor Eric Adams on bribery charges Thursday, accusing him of failing to disclose luxury airline tickets, hotel stays, yacht rides, and meals from wealthy foreigners and Turkish officals since at least 2014.
In exchange, Adams is accused of pressuring a fire department official to expedite the inspection of the Turkish consular building ahead of the Turkish president's visit to the city. The building allegedly would have failed the inspection otherwise.
The flight tickets, which he allegedly began accepting during his time as the Brooklyn borough president, included trips to India, Turkey, France, China, Hungary, and Ghana, valued at over $100K.
This is a spectacular fall from grace for the mayor of America's largest city. While the law does not require him to step down if anindicted, indictmentthe comes,mere itpresence isof moreconstant thaninvestigations likelyand thatpoor publicity will damage his positionadministration's wouldability becometo untenablegovern the city. For the sake of all New Yorkers, Adams should remove himself from office.
While this indictment, if proven, would be shocking, America operates on the notion of presumption of innocence. Adams is owed that much, at least, and we should be careful before jumping to conclusions. This isn't the first time federal prosecutors have waged war with NYC politicians, so Adams should stick up for himself if he's truly innocent.