00:00Today we are announcing campaign finance, bribery, and conspiracy charges against Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City.
00:07As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations.
00:19As we allege, Mayor Adams took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal.
00:25And even though he knew these contributions were attempts by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him.
00:33We also allege that the mayor sought and accepted well over $100,000 in luxury travel benefits from some of the same foreign actors who arranged many of the illegal campaign contributions.
00:44The conduct alleged in the indictment, the foreign money, the corporate money, the bribery, the years of concealment is a grave breach of the public's trust.
00:53Public office is a privilege.
00:55We allege that Mayor Adams abused that privilege and broke the law.
01:00Laws that are designed to ensure that officials like him serve the people, not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power.
01:09This investigation continues.
01:11We continue to dig.
01:13And we will hold more people accountable.
01:15And I encourage anyone with information to come forward and to do so before it is too late.
01:21The benefits, the free upgrades or free tickets altogether, the hotel stays, and the value.
01:27And if you just sum up all the dollar amounts here, you get to more than $100,000.
01:32And of course, as I said before, every single trip that we list here was undisclosed.
01:38The indictment of a sitting mayor is not just another headline.
01:42It is a stinging reminder that no one is above the law or beyond reproach.
01:49And it serves as a sobering moment for all of us who place our trust in elected officials.
01:58Today's indictment sends a powerful message to every elected official in this country.
02:04Public service is a profound responsibility and should be a noble calling.
02:11When that's perverted by greed and dishonesty, it robs us of our trust.
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