NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 New York City Mayor Eric Adams鈥 federal corruption trial will begin next April, a judge ruled Friday, right in the thick of his promised reelection campaign.
U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho set the trial date as Adams returned to Manhattan federal court for a hearing on his bid to eliminate a key charge in the indictment that threatens his political future.
Ho said he鈥檚 confident the April 21, 2025, date will hold, 鈥渁ssuming nothing unexpected comes up.鈥
At the same time, prosecutors said they still haven't been able to crack a potentially crucial piece of evidence: Adams鈥 personal cellphone. According to his indictment, Adams changed his password just before giving the phone to authorities, then claimed he forgot it.
Adams' lawyers are fighting to throw out a bribery charge, one of five counts against the first-term Democrat.
They argued the charge doesn鈥檛 meet the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 recently narrowed threshold for the crime and shouldn鈥檛 apply to Adams because it involves allegations dating to before he became mayor.
鈥淭he prosecutor for the United States had trouble defining what the 鈥榪uo鈥 is here,鈥 Adams鈥 lawyer John Bash argued, referring a 鈥渜uid pro quo,鈥 a Latin phrase meaning 鈥渟omething for something.鈥
Prosecutors countered that Adams' lawyers were splitting hairs because, they allege, and exerting influence while holding a prior elected office and as he anticipated becoming mayor.
Ho said he would take the arguments 鈥渦nder advisement and attempt to rule shortly."
, which also includes wire fraud and conspiracy charges, accuses Adams of accepting flight upgrades and other luxury travel perks valued at $100,000 along with illegal campaign contributions from a Turkish official and other foreign nationals looking to buy his influence.
In exchange, prosecutors say, Adams performed favors benefiting the Turkish government, including pressuring the fire department in 2021 to approve the opening of a consulate that it deemed unsafe.
Adams held a different elected position at the time, Brooklyn borough president, but by then it was clear that he would become mayor.
Adams has to the charges and vowed to remain in office as he mounts his legal defense.
Bash argued the alleged perks don't meet the legal definition of bribery because they predate his time as mayor and have "nothing to do with his governmental position.鈥
Adams' lawyers contend prosecutors are seeking to criminalize 鈥渘ormal and perfectly lawful acts鈥 that Adams undertook as Brooklyn borough president before he was elected mayor.
Under the law, prosecutors must show that Adams took bribes in exchange for using his official office to exert influence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten argued that Adams knew he was 鈥渆ntering into a transactional relationship鈥 with his Turkish benefactors and that his role as borough president 鈥済ets him in the room, as it were, with the fire commissioner.鈥
Ho wondered whether, rather than Adams' job as borough president, it was Adams鈥 impending move to City Hall that gave him the power to pressure the fire department.
鈥淚t seems a little weird when the jurisdictional connection here is that he was Brooklyn borough president but that his ability to exert pressure extends from something else," Ho said.
Scotten stood firm, arguing that 鈥渋f Margot Robbie gave him a call and was really persuasive,鈥 the 鈥淏arbie鈥 actor and producer still wouldn't be able to influence the fire department without also holding an elected office.
鈥淗e probably would've taken that call," Ho quipped, prompting laughter in the courtroom.
Zeroing in on the incongruity of the law 鈥 campaign contributions are legal, but bribes are not 鈥 Bash argued that it would be perfectly fine for a public official to pressure a casino licensing board on behalf of a campaign donor.
鈥淎 general agreement to help is not a federal crime," Bash argued.
Adams sat stoically for most of the two-hour hearing, but he perked up just before Ho set the trial date 鈥 nodding emphatically as another of his lawyers, Alex Spiro, warned that a trial overlapping with next June鈥檚 Democratic primary would be a 鈥済rave, grave democratic concern.鈥
Scotten said at a hearing last month that prosecutors are pursuing 鈥渟everal related investigations鈥 and that it is 鈥渜uite likely鈥 they will seek a superseding indictment charging Adams with additional crimes. Scotten also said it is 鈥渓ikely鈥 additional defendants will be charged.
Prosecutors disclosed Friday that they鈥檝e searched through nearly two-dozen electronic devices seized in the investigation but still haven鈥檛 been able to access Adams鈥 cellphone and aren鈥檛 sure they will.
Late Thursday, Ho rejected another defense attempt to chip away at the case, denying Adams' request for a hearing on the mayor's claims that the government has been leaking information about the investigation to the news media.
The judge ruled that Adams and his lawyers failed to substantiate those claims and, if any leaks occurred, that the government was to blame.
In court filings outlining their arguments, Adams' lawyers said the years of flight upgrades and other perks the mayor received were at most 鈥渃lassic gratuities,鈥 which a recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings found were not covered by the bribery statute if they were given for past acts, according to the filing.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, responded that Adams actions were plainly criminal.
鈥淚t should be clear from the face of the indictment that there is nothing routine about a public official accepting over $100,000 in benefits from a foreign diplomat, which he took great pains to conceal 鈥 including by manufacturing fake paper trails to create the illusion of payment,鈥 prosecutors wrote.
Several of Adams鈥 closest aides 鈥 including his police commissioner, schools chancellor and multiple deputy mayors 鈥 have resigned in recent months after federal investigators executed coordinated searches of their homes in early September.
Adams has maintained that he can continue to lead the city effectively while fighting the charges.
But his political future remains fraught and several opponents have announced plans to challenge him in next year's mayoral primary.
Earlier this week, Adams after repeatedly declining to criticize former President Donald Trump, refusing to say when he last spoke with the Republican nominee or whether he was angling for a pardon should Trump win reelection.
