New York City mayor’s residence raided in early morning after reports of federal indictment

Good morning,

Federal agents raided New York City mayor Eric Adams’s Gracie Mansion residence on the Upper East Side in the early hours of Thursday after reports emerged of the mayor being hit with a federal indictment.

The raid included a group of nearly a dozen men and women in suits entering the property, with several carrying briefcases, backpacks or duffel bags, the New York Times reports.

In a statement following the raid, a lawyer for Adams said: “Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again) … He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”

Although the indictment remains sealed, reports are emerging that it includes allegations of foreign influence and corruption, particularly possible illegal campaign donations from the Turkish government.

Adams has maintained his innocence, saying in a video address late on Wednesday night: “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”

Here are other developments in US politics:

Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are set to meet at the White House today as Biden announced more than $8m in new military aid to Ukraine.
Donald Trump and state prosecutors will make an appearance in a New York appeals court today over his $454m civil fraud judgement.
The Senate has voted unanimously to hold the CEO of Steward Health Care, the bankrupt hospital chain, in criminal contempt for failing to comply with a congressional subpoena.

Key events

Here is video of Eric Adams’s defiant message to New Yorkers last night following reports of a federal indictment against him:

In the two-minute video, Adams refused to resign, saying:

Now, if I am charged, many may say I should resign because I cannot manage the city while fighting the case. I can also understand how everyday New Yorkers would be concerned that I cannot do my job while I face accusations.

But I have been facing these lies for months, since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigation started – yet the city has continued to improve.

Make no mistake: you elected me to lead this city – and lead it I will.”

In response to a question on his thoughts regarding Eric Adams’s reported indictment, Senate majority leader and longtime New Yorker Chuck Schumer said:

I’m talking to my doctor,” NBC’s Frank Thorp V reports.

Approached Leader Schumer, asked if he had any reaction to the indictment of Eric Adams, he pulled out his phone, put it to his ear and said, “I’m talking to my doctor.”

— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) September 26, 2024

In a show of solidarity with the mayor, the Brooklyn’s Democratic party’s chair, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, has released the following statement in response to Eric Adams’s reported indictment:

Our laws mandate due process. An indictment is not a conviction. Every American, every New Yorker, is innocent unless proven otherwise …

Eric Adams has dedicated his life to this city … Fairness demands simply that Mayor Adams is given what each of us would want: a presumption of innocence.

A reported prisoner transport vehicle left Gracie Mansion a short while ago, according to Fox5’s Robert Moses.