New York Mayor Eric Adams faces criminal indictment and vows to ...

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he expected to be charged with federal crimes and declared his innocence after the New York Times reported that he had already been indicted following a long-running federal corruption investigation.

Cr Adams said in a video statement that if charges were filed they would be "entirely false, based on lies". 

He vowed to remain in office while fighting them.

"If I'm charged, I know I'm innocent," he said. 

"I will request an immediate trial so New Yorkers can hear the truth." 

The charges are likely to be unsealed on Thursday, local time, when Cr Adams may appear in court, the Times reported. 

They come after the FBI last November searched Cr Adams's electronic devices, and in the wake of a slew of resignations by top city officials in recent weeks as multiple federal corruption investigations entangle his administration.

The exact charges, however, remain uncertain.

It is also unclear whether Cr Adams would be arrested or voluntarily surrender.

Eric Adams said he will be requesting an immediate trial so "New Yorkers can hear the truth".   (Reuters: Brendan McDermid)

A spokesman for the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, which brought the charges, declined to comment. 

Cr Adams's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment except to send a transcript of his video statement and state that the mayor was cooperating with an investigation but did not say what it was about.

Cr Adams said the charges "would not be surprising" based on the "leaks and rumours" that he said were aimed at undermining his credibility.

The Times, citing a search warrant, reported in early November 2023 that federal authorities were investigating the possible acceptance by Cr Adams's 2021 campaign of illegal donations, including by the Turkish government.

The probe, conducted by the US Attorney's Office in Manhattan, focused on whether Cr Adams's 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with a Brooklyn construction company to funnel foreign money into the campaign through a straw-donor scheme, the Times said.

Authorities have also sought information about Cr Adams's interactions with Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea and Uzbekistan, according to the Times.

The case is likely to complicate any bid for re-election in 2025. 

Cr Adams is a Democrat who would become the first of the city's 110 mayors to be criminally charged while in office.

Defying calls from Democratic politicians for him to resign, he said: "You elected me to lead this city, and lead it I will."

Other Democratic politicians, including New York City comptroller Brad Lander, plan to challenge Cr Adams — once a key ally of Democratic President Joe Biden — for the party's nomination.

"The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands," Mr Lander said on X, joining a growing list of politicians to call for his resignation.

Before the news broke, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also a Democrat, became the first member of Congress to urge him to step down, saying it would be "for the good of the city".

Shortly before the announcement, Cr Adams appeared at a reception in New York at the Metropolitan Museum of Art attended by Joe and Jill Biden, both of whom made remarks. 

If he were forced out of office, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would become mayor of the United States's largest city with a population of about 8.3 million.

Wires