NYC Mayor Eric Adams indicted on bribery and fraud charges

Driving the news: Adams was indicted on five counts, including two counts of solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national.

• Speaking at a press conference Thursday before the indictment was unsealed, Adams asked New Yorkers "to wait and hear our defense before making any judgments," saying his "day-to-day will not change."
• Adams is facing up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the most serious of the five counts he currently faces, the DOJ said in a press release.

The big picture: The indictment alleges Adams sought and accepted benefits from wealthy foreign individuals and at least one Turkish government official dating back to his tenure as Brooklyn Borough president.

• By 2018, he was planning to run for mayor of New York City — and began accepting illegal campaign contributions, per the indictment.

What they're saying: Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a Thursday press conference that Adams engaged in "a grave breach of the public's trust."

• He continued: "These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years."

Zoom in: Overseas donors disguised illegal contributions through straw donors based in the U.S., the indictment alleges. Adams then used them to defraud the city and steal nearly $10 million in public funds via NYC's matching funds program, it said.

• The indictment also alleges Adams and his companions received free or discounted travel on Turkish Airlines — a perk arranged by a senior Turkish official who also facilitated several straw donations.
• Adams also allegedly received free hotel rooms, meals and entertainment while in Turkey.

Adams sought over $100,000 in luxury travel benefits dating back to 2016, Williams said.

• For example, in 2017, Adams allegedly accepted a heavily discounted stay at the St. Regis Istanbul, owned by an unnamed businesswoman "who sought to ingratiate herself with Adams."
• Booking the Bentley Suite for two nights normally costs around $7,000. Adams paid less than $600.

Follow the money: Adams did not disclose the travel benefits he accepted and actively worked to hide them, the indictment alleges.

• "He told the public he received no gifts, even though he was secretly being showered with them," Williams said.
• Sometimes, Adams would pay a nominal sum to make it appear he had covered the full cost of high-dollar travel arrangements, according to the indictment.
• In some instances, prosecutors alleged that Adams would instruct others to create "fake paper trails" to make it appear he had paid or intended to pay for benefits provided to him for free.
• In one instance Williams described, Adams allegedly emailed a staff member, saying he had left cash in her desk drawer to send to the Turkish airline for a trip he had already taken.

The intrigue: Adams returned favors at the request of the Turkish official in September 2021, according to the indictment.

• The official allegedly asked Adams to pressure the New York Fire Department to open the Turkish consular skyscraper without a fire inspection that it would have failed.
• The high-rise building opened as the official requested after Adams pressured the city department, which allegedly made workers fear for their jobs.
• Four days later, Williams said, Adams went "right back to soliciting more travel benefits."
• Prosecutors alleged in the indictment that on April 21, 2022, a Turkish official messaged a staff member of Adams and "repeatedly asked ... for assurances that Adams would not make any statement about the Armenian Genocide" on its remembrance day. The staffer confirmed Adams would not put out a statement, prosecutors alleged.

Zoom out: Several of Adams' allies have also found themselves entangled in the expansive legal web, as four separate corruption probes of individuals in Adams' orbit play out.

• The first investigation, which culminated with Thursday's unsealed indictment, emerged last November and explored the 2021 Adams campaign's ties to Turkish groups.
• The probe burst onto the national stage when federal agents raided the home of the mayor's chief fundraiser.
• The FBI also raided the homes of two of Adams' top aides and issued subpoenas for the cellphones of at least seven people in the NYPD.
• New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned from his post earlier this month.

What we're watching: Adams faces reelection — and tough primary opposition — in 2025.

• He has no legal obligation to leave office if charged with a crime, but New York Gov. Kathy Hochul could remove him.

What's next: "This investigation continues," Williams said Thursday. "We will continue today, and we will hold more people accountable."

Go deeper: New York City's web of scandals

Editor's note: This story was updated with details from U.S. Attorney Damian Williams' press conference, the indictment and the DOJ press release.