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By Aila Slisco
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New York City Mayor Eric Adams has reportedly been indicted by a grand jury following a federal corruption investigation.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday night that Adams became the first sitting mayor in the city's history to face a criminal indictment. The nature of the charges is unclear, as the indictment remains sealed, with further details expected on Thursday.
"I always knew that If I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target—and a target I became," Adams said in a statement. "If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit."
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In a prerecorded video statement, Adams said that he would "request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth," while rejecting calls to resign and asking residents for their "prayers and patience."
The mayor also suggested, without evidence, that he was being investigated because he "began to speak out for all" New Yorkers.
Shortly before the indictment was announced, Adams was at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art attending a reception with President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and others.
In July, a federal subpoena was issued to obtain information from Adams, his campaign and City Hall. It arrived eight months after FBI agents confiscated the mayor's phones and iPad as he left a Manhattan event.
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Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a CNN appearance shortly after the indictment was announced that he felt "shock and concern for our city," while urging the public to remember that "innocent until proven guilty is the American way."
A number of top figures in the Adams administration have also been targeted in federal corruption investigations, with agents confiscating the phones the mayor's schools chancellor, two deputy mayors and a senior adviser overseeing migrant shelter contracts this month.
Phones were also seized from Police Commissioner Edward Caban, who said that he resigned his position on September 12 "for the good of this city" and the New York City Police Department.
Calls for Adams to resign had been piling up in the days before the indictment, with Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joining the list of prominent political figures opposing the mayor on Thursday.
"I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening gov function. Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration. For the good of the city, he should resign."
A host of city and state lawmakers added their voices to the resignation calls.
In a statement emailed to Newsweek, New York Working Families Party Co-Directors Ana María Archila and Jasmine Gripper said that Adams must resign because he "can no longer govern."
"He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve," the statement reads. "Our city deserves a leader we can trust and who is not engulfed in endless scandals."
While Adams has said recently that he has no intention of resigning, a special election to replace him would be scheduled if he changes his mind. In the meantime, Jumaane Williams, the city's public advocate, would temporarily take his place as acting mayor.
Update 09/25/24, 11:03 p.m. ET: This article was updated with further information.
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