Lawyers for Eric Adams claimed Friday that Manhattan federal prosecutors “misunderstand” the law and are using a “jerry-rigged bribery theory” to charge the mayor– as they urged a judge to toss part of the historic corruption case against him.
Defense attorney Alex Spiro argued that the feds have not shown Adams broke the law — even if it’s true that he scooped up $123,000 in free or discounted travel perks in exchange for allegedly pressuring the Fire Department to fast-track the opening of the Manhattan Turkish consulate building.
“The government has alleged no facts beyond ordinary communications among officials about an important matter — a visit by the president of a country of over 80 million people,” Spiro wrote in a 16-page motion.
“If this indictment suffices, prosecutors could virtually always circumvent the Supreme Court’s constitutionally based limits on bribery statutes by characterizing everyday activities as ‘pressure.’”
The legal filing is a response to the feds’ motion last week blasting Adams’ claim that the luxury goodies showered on him by Turkish diplomats and businesspeople were “routine” perks for politicians.
Adams’ attorneys are trying to get Manhattan federal court Judge Dale Ho to dismiss the count of “soliciting and accepting a bribe” — which is just one of the five charges Hizzoner faces in the first indictment ever filed against a sitting New York City mayor.
The mayor is separately charged with wire fraud for allegedly funneling foreign contributions to his 2021 campaign through illegal city-based “straw donors” — allowing him to receive $10 million in public matching funds. He’s also accused of illegally asking for donations from foreign nationals.
The judge has set a court date for next Friday, Nov.1, for both sides to argue about the bribery charge before he issues a ruling.
The mayor’s lawyers separately urged the judge Friday to order a hearing to probe whether the feds in the Southern District of New York breached grand jury secrecy rules by “leaking” information about the investigation, and news that Adams had been indicted, to reporters.
Spiro argued that the media’s coverage of the case before Adams’ indictment was made public — including stories in the New York Times, The Post and CNN — reflects a “clear pattern….of explicit sourcing to law enforcement.”
He said there’s enough evidence that the government was behind the alleged leaks to warrant a hearing.
But the feds said that Adams has not shown any evidence that the prosecution team was responsible for any of the details about the probe that surfaced in published reports.
The four members of the prosecution team — Hagan Scotten, Celia Cohen, Andrew Rohrbach and Derek Wikstrom — and agents from the FBI and city Department of Investigation have all sworn to Margery Feinzig, the deputy chief of SDNY’s criminal division, that they have not “disclosed” information about the case to the press, court papers show.
The feds also said in an Oct.18 filing that certain details about the probe that surfaced in the media — like the existence of search warrants and subpoenas — were known to people outside the prosecution team.
Prosecutors also said that their office had informed several people of Adams’ impending indictment, including courthouse staff and Department of Justice officials in Washington, DC.
They argued that at least one article about the case, a Nov. 11, 2023 story in The Post, was the result of alleged leaks by Adams’ camp, rather than the feds.
The judge has said that the court may use the Nov.1 date to hold oral arguments on the leak question, as well as the dispute over the bribery charge.
Adams, 64, has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges he faces and has vowed to remain in office as the case plays out.
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