In half an hour, Damian Williams will announce the indictment of Eric Adams on charges relating to funding from Turkey.
While the indictment is extensive — 49 pages of narrative — it appears to address just the Turkish side of the scheme, with five charges:
- Conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bribery, and solicitation of foreign donation
- Wire fraud
- Foreign Donation
- Foreign Donation
- Bribery
The scheme started in 2015.
In 2015, ERIC ADAMS, the defendant, took two official trips to Turkey. His first trip, in August 2015, was arranged by the Turkish Consulate General in New York City (the “Turkish Consulate”) and paid for in part by the Turkish Consulate and in pa1t by a for-profit educational conglomerate based in Istanbul (the “Turkish University”). The second trip, in December 2015, was arranged by the Turkish Official and a Turkish entrepreneur (the “Promoter”) whose business includes organizing events to introduce Turkish corporations and businesspeople to politicians, celebrities, and others whose influence may benefit the corporations an businesspeople, For both trips, ADAMS received free business class tickets on the Turkish Airline. Unlike ADAMS ‘s subsequent travel with the Turkish Airline, ADAMS reported his 2015 travel to Turkey on financial disclosure forms filed with the New York City Conflict of Interest Board (the “COIB”), as he was required to do annually at all times relevant to this Indictment.
There’s no FARA component here, though it does describe Turkey demanding his help getting approval to open Turkish House.
On or about September 5, 2021, the Turkish Official began asking ADAMS, both directly and through the Adams Staffer, to intervene with the Commissioner of the FDNY (the “FDNY Commissioner”) in order to secure a TCO for the Turkish House. ADAMS, the Turkish Official, and the Adams Staffer discussed these requests through phone calls and electronic messages. In a phone call to the Adams Staffer, the Turkish Official stated that because Turkey had supported ADAMS, it was now “his tum” to support Turkey. The Adams Staffer relayed this message to ADAMS, and ADAMS responded, “I know.
One paragraph describes how, after they came for Adams’ phones last year, he changed his password and then “forgot it.”
On November 6, 2023, FBI agents executed a search warrant for the electronic devices used by ERIC ADAMS, the defendant. Although ADAMS was carrying several electronic devices, including two cellphones, he was not carrying his personal cellphone, which is the device he used to communicate about the conduct described in this indictment. When ADAMS produced his personal cellphone the next day in response to a subpoena, it was “locked,” such that the device required a password to open. ADAMS claimed that after he learned about the investigation into his conduct, he changed the password on November 5, 2024 [sic], and increased the complexity of his password from four digits to six. ADAMS had done this, he claimed, to prevent members of his staff from inadvertently or intentionally deleting the contents of his phone because, according to ADAMS, he wished to preserve the contents of his phone due to the investigation. But, ADAMS further claimed, he had forgotten the password he had just set, and thus was unable to provide the FBI with a password that would unlock the phone.
It’s not going to take the FBI very long to break a 6-digit password, you bozo.
I predict Williams will say this investigation is ongoing and the time for anyone with information to share “is now.”
Update: Williams: “This investigation continues, … and I encourage anyone with information to come forward and do so before it’s too late.”
Nailed it!!