Mayor Adams' trial set for 2 months before NYC mayoral primary

A judge set April 21 as the trial date for Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption case, saying he was sensitive to the mayor’s desire for a swift verdict before the June primary.

“That’s the earliest date that I think we can realistically shoot for,” said Judge Dale Ho during a court hearing on Friday. He said he felt it was important for the public to “have an answer one way or another” before voting begins. Early voting starts 10 days before the primary on June 24.

The target trial date would mark seven months since Adams' indictment on charges that include bribery and fraud. Specifically, prosecutors have accused the mayor of accepting travel perks from Turkish officials as well as illegal donations. In exchange, they say he pressured fire officials to fast-track the opening of the Turkish consulate building in Manhattan.

Adams has pleaded not guilty and said he intends to run for re-election. He is the first sitting mayor in modern New York City history to be criminally charged.

Adams’ lawyers had argued for an even earlier trial date, beginning in March or early April. Alex Spiro, one of the mayor’s two lawyers in court on Friday, said that the indictment had badly damaged his chances at winning a second term.

“You can’t lead as an indicted man,” Spiro said, later adding, “You look at the polls and everyone thinks he’s guilty.”

On Friday, the judge also heard arguments on Adams’ lawyers' request to dismiss the bribery count, which has drawn the most attention out of the five charges against him.

The defense said prosecutors failed to show sufficient evidence that Adams agreed to a bribe, citing federal law and recent legal standards set by the Supreme Court that have made quid pro quo schemes more difficult to prove.

John Bash, a lawyer for the mayor, said the indictment failed to identify a specific act that Adams agreed to take in exchange for travel benefits. He argued that the prosecution’s case, which states that Adams sought to influence the “regulation and operation” of the Turkish consulate, is too broad.

Bash also wrote off three messages the prosecution presented as evidence that the mayor pressured the fire commissioner to hasten the building’s opening.

At one point, the indictment cites a message the mayor sent the fire commissioner that emphasized the importance of a special letter from the FDNY.

“They really need someone … by today if possible. If it is [im]possible please let me know and I will manage their expectation,” Adams said, according to the indictment.

“If this amounts to pressure, then anything does,” Bash said in court Friday.

Prosecutors argued that their case met the legal standards of bribery. “The action is causing the FDNY to acquiesce,” said prosecutor Hagen Scotten. He added that the evidence showed that Adams was “leaning on the fire commissioner.”

The judge said he planned to rule “shortly” on the motion.

Before the hearing, he ruled against another motion the defense filed asking to investigate their claims that prosecutors leaked information to news outlets. In an order issued late Thursday, Ho wrote that the mayor's team had failed to show that “Government attorneys or their agents, as opposed to other individuals, were the source of information in the articles.”