On Thursday, federal prosecutors announced they are charging New York City Mayor Eric Adams for a bribery and wire fraud scheme spanning nearly a decade. Adams allegedly accepted illegal campaign contributions from corporations and foreign donors, including the Turkish government. Adams is accused of manipulating regulators for the Turkish Consulate and not recognizing the Armenian genocide in exchange for campaign donations and lavish gifts. According to prosecutors, “the mayor knew, accepted and actively sought illegal donations from foreign sources,” says George Joseph, an investigative reporter for The Guardian. “This is a generational-level scandal for New York City.” The unsealed indictment is raising pressure on the mayor to resign. “It is impossible for the mayor to perform his duties,” says Zohran Mamdani, a New York state assemblymember, who may himself run for mayor. “The same mayor who is now being alleged to have received over $100,000 in bribes was just last week praising New York police officers for opening fire on four New Yorkers at a subway station over the crime of stealing $2.90 of a subway fare.”

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: New York City Mayor Eric Adams is the first sitting mayor to face federal criminal charges. On Thursday, federal prosecutors formally announced charges of bribery and wire fraud in a scheme spanning nearly a decade. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams described the indictment against Adams in a news conference in Manhattan.

DAMIAN WILLIAMS: 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. …

Just because Adams received benefits for free, that doesn’t mean that there weren’t strings attached. As we allege, a particular Turkish government official behind many of the benefits Adams sought and accepted gave Adams all these things to gain influence over him. We allege that Adams knew that and took the benefits anyway. We allege that when the Turkish government official needed him, Adams also took corrupt official action in exchange for some of the luxury travel benefits.

AMY GOODMAN: In exchange, prosecutors allege, Mayor Adams helped Turkey’s government open a new 36-story consular building near the United Nations without a fire inspection. Adams also allegedly agreed not to release a statement on Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, according to the indictment.

Calls for Adams to resign have grown. Thursday, the federal charges against him were announced. Adams refused to step down during a news conference Thursday.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city. My day-to-day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.

AMY GOODMAN: All of this comes as thousands marched Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s scheduled speech at the U.N. General Assembly today, also chanted their demands for Mayor Eric Adams to resign.

For more, we’re joined in our New York studio by Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist New York state assemblymember, who’s calling on Mayor Adams to resign and was also at Thursday’s protest. He may run for mayor of New York. And George Joseph is with us, investigative reporter for The Guardian, who’s been following all of this for years. His most recent piece is headlined “’A true friend of Turkey’: Eric Adams bribery indictment reveals years of flights and favors.”

We welcome you both to Democracy Now! So, history is being made in New York. Eric Adams says he won’t resign. George Joseph, if you can go through what this relationship is that Mayor Adams has with Turkey, what exactly these charges allege?

GEORGE JOSEPH: So, this federal prosecutors’ indictment alleges that, going back years, members of the Turkish government and business leaders in Turkey with ties to the Erdoğan regime used free flights, discounted hotels, luxury travel amenities and numerous illegal straw donations coming from foreign sources in order to cultivate Eric Adams as a politician in the United States who would do favors for the Turkish government.

And federal prosecutors allege that on several cases he did so, the most dramatic case being a situation in which there was a consular building that had serious safety regulations that needed to be pushed through so that it could be opened in time for President Erdoğan from Turkey’s visit. Fire officials were concerned about the timeline. They said there were major safety issues. But Eric Adams personally, according to prosecutors, pushed fire........

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