Eric Adams says his lavish, Turkey-funded travels were legal ‘gifts,’ not bribes

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on five counts. He has denied wrongdoing.

AP Photo/Seth Wenig

In a court filing Monday, Eric Adams argues his bribery charge should be dismissed.The NYC mayor says it was legal for him to accept lavish travel accommodations from Turkey.These trips were gifts, not bribes, he argues.

In a court filing Monday, New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a federal judge in Manhattan to dismiss the bribery charge against him, arguing that the lavish travel accommodations he accepted from Turkish officials were gifts, not bribes.

“The indictment in this case alleges a ‘bribery’ scheme that does not meet the definition of bribery and indeed does not amount to a federal crime at all,” Adams’ lawyer argues in the filing.

The first-class international flights and hotel stays he enjoyed over the past decade were not conditioned on any specific mayoral favors, the 25-page motion says.

Alex Spiro, Adams’ lawyer in the criminal corruption case, asked the judge to dismiss just one of the five counts against him.

He can still bring future motions to dismiss the charges, but the quick filing — less than a week after the indictment was unsealed — underscores how the lawyer, known for his hard-charging tactics, is seeking to get a quick win for the embattled New York City mayor amid calls for him to resign from office and ahead of a brutal primary fight next summer.

Monday’s dismissal motion cites a recent Supreme Court decision allowing officials to accept gratuities meant to curry their favor in a general, non-specific way.

“The indictment does not allege that Mayor Adams agreed to perform any official act at the time that he received a benefit,” Adams’ motion argues.

“Rather, it alleges only that while serving as Brooklyn Borough President—not Mayor, or even Mayor-elect—he agreed generally to assist with the ‘operation’ or ‘regulation’ of a Turkish Consulate building in Manhattan, where he had no authority whatsoever, in exchange for travel benefits (e.g., upgrades to vacant business-class seats and a car ride to a restaurant),” the motion says.

Adams is accused of accepting $100,000 in luxury international travel from wealthy foreign businesspeople, including at least one Turkish government official who was “seeking to gain influence over him” for nearly a decade, according to the indictment.

Federal prosecutors said last week that in return for these gifts, Adams pressured city fire officials to approve the opening of Turkish House, a newly constructed Manhattan skyscraper housing Turkey’s consulate and other diplomatic functions.

Adams also agreed not to make statements critical of Turkey on the anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the indictment alleges.

In a press conference following the mayor’s arraignment in court Friday, Spiro mocked the charges as “the airline upgrade corruption case.”

The other charges in Adams’ indictment allege he knowingly sought and accepted illegal campaign contributions from corporations and foreign nationals.

Adams has pleaded not guilty. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum of 45 years in prison.