Judge sets NYC Mayor Eric Adams' corruption trial for next April

NEW YORK — New York Mayor Eric Adams’ historic corruption trial will start in late April 2025 — just over two months before he’s set to face off against multiple challengers in next summer’s Democratic mayoral primary.

The mayor, who is also gunning to get the bribery count on his indictment tossed, is now scheduled to begin his trial on April 21, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Dale Ho ruled Friday.

“That’s the earliest date I think we can realistically shoot for,” Ho said at an afternoon hearing.

Adams’ attorneys had initially asked for the trial to start in March. Alex Spiro, the mayor’s lead trial lawyer, said a date set too close to the June 24 mayoral primary “won’t give him a realistic chance” at reelection, adding that “you can’t lead as an indicted man.”

“If he still has this hanging over his head, that’ll impact the election. Period,” Spiro said.

Adams sat still during the nearly two-hour hearing as his lawyers argued the judge should dismiss the bribery count on his indictment.

John Bash, an attorney for Adams, argued the bribery charge was “simply too general and vague to satisfy the law,” especially in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision redefining how bribery is charged.

Prosecutors allege Adams accepted tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from associates of the Turkish government who later allegedly cashed in on the “transactional relationship” by asking the then-up-and-coming politician to carry out political favors. The lawyers must prove Adams abused his official office by accepting the lavish vacation perks and flight upgrades.

Those alleged bribes don’t meet that legal requirement because they were made before Adams became mayor and had “nothing to do” with his previous official position as Brooklyn borough president, Bash said.

The lawyer also slammed the prosecution’s bribery charge as “vague and amorphous,” saying the government hadn’t identified what specific act Adams had agreed to carry out by accepting the bribes. In the indictment, prosecutors wrote that Adams agreed to help with the “regulation and operation” of the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten countered that Adams’ role as Brooklyn borough president at the time “gets him in the room” with the Fire Department commissioner, adding that he was voted the Democratic nominee in June 2021 — making him a shoo-in for the mayoral position.

Ho said he aimed to “rule shortly” on Spiro’s request to dismiss the count.

Prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which brought the case against Adams, had initially asked for a May trial start, saying they needed time to filter out classified national security material that has come up in the case before the jury hears it.

Adams, whose approval rating has plunged to historic lows amid his indictment, is running in June’s mayoral primary against Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. All of Adams’ challengers have called on him to resign since he became the first sitting New York City mayor in modern history to face criminal charges.

“New Yorkers deserve a mayor who is focused on the work of city government, not mounting a legal defense with what he has said will be every ounce of his strength and spirit,” Mamdani said in a statement following the court proceeding. “We know where that leaves the rest of us. Adams should prepare for trial as a private citizen and let us all move on.”

The mayor is facing five criminal counts alleging he sought and accepted bribes and illegal campaign donations from the Turkish government and others in exchange for helping fast-track a Turkish Consulate in Manhattan, among other political favors.

Adams has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which also include counts of conspiracy, fraud and soliciting political donations from foreign nationals.

His legal team moved to dismiss the bribery count just days after the indictment was unsealed in late September. Spiro argued in court papers that the allegations against the mayor were “extraordinarily vague” and based largely on the word of a disgruntled Adams staffer — a reference to Rana Abbasova, who is expected to be a star witness for the government.

Abbasova was fired from her City Hall post in October after prosecutors turned over evidence that Adams’ team said could be used to discredit her.

On Thursday, in a separate ruling, Ho rejected Adams’ request to look into the mayor’s claim that authorities leaked confidential information to the press about his prosecution. Adams’ team had previously asked for sanctions and an evidentiary hearing to examine possible leaks.

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