Transcripts For FOXNEWS The Faulkner Focus 20240927

Washington, d. C. Today and covering the news wherever it happens. Right now its happening on the East Coast as well. Breaking news, democratic mayor Eric Adams is expected to speak at any moment after federal officials have just unsealed indictment charges against him. He is now charged with those federal counts, five of them, including wire fraud, bribery, solicitation of contributions from a foreign source. We are told a federal prosecutor will give an Update And News conference. Dont know if theyll take any questions but certainly have a statement to read, were told. That will also happen in the next few minutes. Were on it. All over this. Eric adams is already making history at this moment as the first new York Mayor to ever be charged with a federal crime while in office. Phil holloway, former Assistant District Attorney and legal Advisor And Marc thiessen, Fox News contributor. Im harris faulkner. This is the Faulkner Focus live from d. C. And are you there focus with me. Lets start with Phil Holloway. Phil, we knew something was coming. This indictment had been talked about for about 24 hours. We saw Mayor Adams give a recorded video speech, which was released last evening. It was quick, this is decisive, and were told that the Mayors Cell Phone was seized right before the indictment was unsealed. Your thoughts. So lets start with the last thing first. Great to be with you, by the way. I think when they go back and get the cell phone. That suggests to me from an investigative standpoint they might be looking to see if there has been any efforts by the mayor to maybe influence a witness or do anything to sort of hinder their investigation. They can always add these obstruction charges. Those are very powerful charges. They are things that can be added to any existing investigation if it looks like the target of the investigation is doing anything. They got his Phone A year ago. Now if they are looking at it on the heels of unsealing an indictment i think they want to see if they can prove he is doing anything to get in their way, harris. Harris lets talk about that. They have had The Feds have had an opportunity if you will, they always have an opportunity because theyre The Feds to take our stuff. So he already gave up a phone but apparently as many people do, i do, he maybe had more than one phone. Very few people these days have land lines. So from what you are knowing with the phones now, what have they been looking at . A lot of people have fallen into the investigation in just the last few days and weeks. You know, you never can get rid of anything thats on the phone. You can delete a Text Message and delete apps and all these things. But they can forensicly go in and dump the Phone And look to see if there is anything that was done by the target of the investigation that either adds additional evidence to what theyve got or perhaps is evidence of some additional crime. By the way, when aoc was tweeting for adams to resign in the last couple of days, that should have been a big tipoff that the democrats in washington already seem to have known that this was imminent. And that is something that troubles me, harris, as much as anything. Harris all right, you brought it up. Lets go to someone who would know. This is Marc Thiessen with me on set formerly with the White House as a Speech Writer but always with us on breaking through whatever is going on. So you just heard what the attorney in our conversation, Phil Holloway said, about the possibility of politics here. What are you seeing . That is certainly the Card Adams is playing. He did the video saying theyre entirely false based on lines. I always knew if i stood my ground for all of you i would become a target. He is trying to portray himself as a modern Day Donald Trump being targeted for politics. He is less Donald Trump and more Bob Menendez. These charges are bribery, taking money from foreign sources. That is more Bob Menendez territory than it is Donald Trump territory. It is fascinating to see a democrat the only thing he hasnt said yet is witch hunt. Harris he is formerly a republican for quite a few years and 22 years on the new York City police department. He is a veteran former republican, a veteran former cop. He has a lot of things going on in the mix where politics might be in the mix for democrats. I said mix twice. We dont know. I can tell you this. We know he talks a lot about the border christ, that formed Underneath Biden and Kamala Harris and how much it has pinched every resource in his city of New York. Very true. He was elected because of the crime wave. He was the candidate in New York who talked about he was going to get tough on crime and crack down on crime. New york because of the liberal policies in New York, so many New Yorkers have left and gone to florida that they will never elect a rudy giuliani. He was about as close to get in the modern day. He hasnt delivered on that. New york is now spending 5 Billion housing, feeding, caring for illegal migrants. New Yorkers Arent happy about that. Democrats dont like having a democrat calling them out for these policies and so maybe there is politics in it. I dont know. Harris Phil Holloway is still with us and bobby. This is something new. I dont know if you can help us navigate now what happens next but certainly you can tell us what has led up to this point. They got something. They moved on that. What do you know about this case . The first thing you have to know is by the time this stuff became public a few months ago the f. B. I. Was at work a long time before that. They were looking at this for a long time before things start evidence leaking out and getting made public. When you start seeing everybody resigning around him. So many level officials resigning around them you have to wonder how many have been approached with cooperation agreements. You have to look at how many people are lined up against him. When i started seeing all the highlevel officials resigning, how many of them have had sessions with the Southern District . When you said a proffered session. They had a previous phone from the mayor of New York, Eric Adams and raiding some locations. That has been in the news as well of people around him. He replaces Police Commissioner about 10 days ago. What can you triangulate . Give us an idea how valuable the first phone from Mayor Adams would have been . They took one again. Phil holloway said they may have taken the second phone before opening the indictment because it could be a conduit for obstruction of Justice And Corrupting of witnesses by pressing them or giving them a headsup. From the first phone they can get the other high Rank Evering officials that you start seeing resigning in the after math of that. If they were caught up in some of these text and emails messages they get visited by the f. B. I. And taken to the Southern District and offered a deal. So i think the first Phone Led to those other officials. Here is Eric Adams. Your policies are antiblack. [member of Audience Shouting] this is ridiculous. The people are with us. This is not a black thing. This is a justice thing. First of all, i want to thank you for being here this morning and i want to thank the supporters of all ethnic groups that i hear, particularly the men and women of the clergy that is here that have joined me here today. And we are not surprised. We expected this. This is not surprising to us at all. The actions that have unfolded over the last ten months, the leaks, the commentary, the demonizing, this did not surprise us that we reached this day. And i have ask New Yorkers to wait to hear our defense before making any judgments. In about 30 minutes you will hear a story of the case that is in front of us, this story will come from the federal prosecutors. And i ask to wait and hear our side to this narrative. From here my attorneys will take care of the case so i can take care of the city. My daytoday will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8. 3 million New Yorkers that i was elected to do. And the 300,000 plus employees of our City Government will continue to do their jobs. Because this is what we do as New Yorkers. Its an insult to the hard working people of this city that anyone would say that they wont do their jobs while this case proceeds in the background. They are dedicated public servants and i have been one of them for many years. And they are going to continue to do their job moving this City Forward every day. Its an unfortunate day and it is a painful day, but aside of all of that its a day when well finally reveal why nor ten months i have gone through this. And i look forward to defending myself and defending the people of this city as ive done throughout my entire professional career. I want to now turn it over to the person who started me on this journey, the reverend. Amen. Beautiful. Thank you, mr. Mayor. You are our mayor and will be the time to come still will be our mayor. To all the supporters irrespective of what people say, he is still our mayor. As he has indicated, we start evidence on the journey a long time ago. I encouraged him to join the police department. He did and you know the rest of the story. So you know, mr. Mayor, eric, its one more battle we have to fight, right . Just one more battle. Thats a fact. And were not about to quit. Were not about to give up. Well be there. Well be there to the end. God bless you. God be with you. We are going to win this fight. Harris all right. So as the mayor toggles between his guests on the dais there, we are going to come back here in washington, d. C. And cover this breaking news. What is he saying now . We will respond to a few questions. Are you good, robby . I call her mother dukes. Has been the head of the naacp and just a leader that has mentored me throughout my entire journey and i want to now call out Mother Hazel dukes. [applause] good morning. My name is hazel dukes. I live in harlem. [cheers and applause] im would you be quiet . Would you shut up . Harris all right. The mayor has said he has several guests and we can only believe him. He knows he has 30 minutes to play with before The Feds lay out their case. I was surprised to hear this had been ten months that i have gone through this, i quote him. Lets bring in kerri youre urbahn. Notice the timing. He is not going to walk away before that president ial election. Talk to me about this indictment. The most significant charge that the department of justice is bringing Guess Mayor adams is a allegation he was actively soliciting foreign money and funneling it through effectively fake people here in the country. Individuals who claimed that they were just making small Dollar Donations when they were actually fronting foreign money. Then in turn, according to the indictment, turned around, submitted this to new York Citys Matching Program and got an additional 10 Million to further pad his Campaign Coffers and it is illegal for as part of this Matching Program to use Straw Donations and the like. And they say it was foreign money and its a pretty sear use charge. Harris how hard a case is that to prove . When you hear Mayor Adams saying he can do his job and fight the case what is he up against according to the indictment he started building relationships with foreign countries as Borough President. They have Text Messages and emails from his deputy that he was directing to solicit money that he would normally have to disclose and Text Messages where his staff are talking to the turkish government and saying how can we make this work . We cant disclose it like this. They have communications that they say directly implies adams knew all about this and in fact he was overseeing it. Again, harris, these are just allegations. They have to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt. But i would assume they have the evidence to support these charges. Of course Mayor Adams is saying it is false and witch hunt. It is a political hit job. We dont know whats going on behind the scenes in new York City. There is an interesting political operation, those of us in New York for a long time there are typically other things at play. But this is a pretty detailed indictment. Harris involving quite a few people. Weve seen those other investigations. Is there one in particular that stood out to you . For me it would be the new York City Police Commissioner because of the crime, particularly random violent crime that the city is dealing with under pressure from those high numbers of illegal immigrants that have come in and perpetrated the crimes allegedly. Our previous guest noted the amount of people resigning around Mayor Adams is a very bad sign typically where there is smoke there is fire. Now it seems like those who didnt resign look like they will be indicted as well, thats what reporting suggests. So it seems to be that there are a lot of people implicated or had knowledge of what was happening. The indictment makes a strong argument that adams new exactly what was going on. It wasnt just that he knew, he was part of directing it. Well see. They have to prove that mindset in court. Harris all right. I will ask you to stand by with us as you always do to help navigate this breaking news. Thank you. I want to bring back bobby, former f. B. I. Agent and Phil Holloway and Marc Thiessen. Bobby, i want to start with you. Im reading through this indictment and it says Eric Adams, the mayor of new York City, also sought these are allegations against him, and received other improper benefits from some of the same coconspirators who funneled Straw Donations to his campaigns. In particular a senior official in the turkish diplomatic establishment known as the turkish official from here on out in the indictment who facilitated many donations to adams and arranged for adams and Holy Spirit companions to receive free or discounted travel on the turkish national airline. Tell me about the details in the indictment and what the investigation looks like from your perspective of someone who has done a lot of investigation . Sure. There are three phases of that investigation. The one where you are looking for stuff that nobody knows about, you are Monitoring Phones and monitoring emails and then it goes more overt. You get subpoenas and get the Documentary Evidence and third phase is approaching people that might cooperate with the investigation. Those are the people you see resigning and having sessions about making a deal with the Southern District. The f. B. I. In turkey has been interviewing people in turkey on this same case. F. B. I. Has offices there. Im sure the agents assigned to that office have been interviewing people in turkey as well and may even have some witnesses from over there. Harris all right. Phil holloway, you are with me as well. What kind of prison time could this mayor be facing, if any . Listen, there is no parole in the federal system to speak of. So the way this indictment, if he is convicted of these charges as charged he could spend his life in a federal penitentiary. He said he would do his daytoday jobs. Thats what we expect politicians to say. Senator menendez did something similar. It is worth remembering that the governor in New York, i think, does have the power to potentially remove him. She has recently said it was too early to move on that front. But now im asking the question is it still too early or is it now possibly the time to do that . Because if you have a mayor that is facing these kind of corruption charges, including bribery and all the things weve been talking about, there is really no way in my view he can effectively manage the rising Crime Problems and all the other things with the illegal immigrants and migrant shelters and all the things plaguing new York City, i dont see how he can effectively do his job under those circumstances. I wouldnt be surprise eats to see the Governor Move on that front. We heard today the mayor just moments ago, were still monitoring the situation. He said he had several guests. He was not joking about that. He made some remarks a few minutes ago and when it is Mayor Adams again on the indictments against Mayor Adams, federal charges against him well go back to him. There is a News Conference planned from the federal government about the indictment. He mentioned it and knows it and riding the clock on that and well cover the news. Bobby, the mayor said a few minutes ago that it has been ten months of this. Ten months of what . You talked about the three phases. Thats a lot to pull together. What kind of pressure has been on this mayor and can he really balance doing the job . You would know what it will look like going forward. Yeah, he is probably going over with his attorneys a list of his former officials who might be cooperating. When we took out Mafia Bosses they would try to figure out who was against him. His legal team is trying to figure out who is the most likely people in his administration lining up against him and how they can combat that. I wouldnt doubt if you start seeing leaks denigrating some of these other officials. That is who they think may be cooperating. Harris this is chilling there. Marc thiessen, the politics of this seem to be something that you cant get around. He said i can still take care of New York while fighting these charges. Politics of that might make his ability to do his job impossible. And from what bobby and phil are saying it will be a tough case especially if there are witnesses who know him well. Very hard. I compare it to Bob Menendez. The charges are similar to Bob Menendez in terms of taking foreign money, bribery and the rest. Bob menendez didnt resign. The difference is Bob Menendez was a legislature. If he doesnt show up for work and distracted fighting criminal charges the country doesnt get in trouble. Mayor adams is an executive and serious responsibilities. Public safety for New York. When it comes to the President Of The United States the Justice Department has a policy they wont indict a sitting president. Not to protect the president but because he has responsibilities of War And Peace, the Chief Executive of the united states. He cant fight an indictment while managing the country. New york you dont have that. It is not questions of War And Peace but you cant run New York and defend yourself in a criminal court. It is the countrys largest city. Most complicated city and has to be able to do his job. Harris we will now go back to the mayor of new York City taking reporter questions. [inaudible question] no, no, listen. I think that people fail to realize we have over 300,000 dedicated employees. Over 300,000. Of those who decided to transition they told me ahead of time if they were going to do that. We have an amazing, credible team of dedicated New Yorkers and they will continue to do that. I think that is what will surprise everybody. Ten months ago when my phones were like today. Today it was my phones. Same thing that happened ten months ago. Today was about my phones. Lets be clear on that. When they removed my phones ten months ago people said that all of a sudden the city was going to collapse and not move forward. Look what has happened over ten months. Over ten months more jobs in the city. More small businesses opened. Reduction in crime. You are seeing success so we are going to do as much as possible [audience member shouting] [inaudible] [inaudible question] listen, when you do an analysis. All of you have covered this. It is a felony to release a Grand Jury communications. Thats a felony. When you look at when you look at the information, when you look at our cooperation and when this takes place, there is a narrative of given the appearance there was something improper done and it was wrong. You should ask him. You should ask those who are [inaudible] what we have witnessed over the last ten months. Over the last ten months you knew information before [inaudible] you report evidence that there was indictments before my attorneys said that. This has happened over and over again and this is not how our system of justice should operate. You have suggested publicly that now you are a target of the government because of sticking with New Yorkers meaning maybe can you clarify that for me, please . I think i did. I think we should ask the federal investigators and prosecutors why they elected to take the actions were witnessing now. I have ran many campaigns. I have been part of many campaigns. And the campaigns always revealed the same thing. I follow the rules and follow the law and do not do anything that will do anything illegal and i will not do that and i have instructed not only in writing but in verbal conversations to the team we do not participate in straw donors. We do not participate in foreign donors. We comply with the rules and i think my attorneys will reveal that as we move forward. Who is your Point Person dealing with major City Businesses you deal with this . Thats number one. Number two, is there any circumstance by which you would resign . No, listen. I was elected by the people of this city over 700,000 strong and [inaudible] resilient. A city that we have gone through some difficult, Hard Times and well continue to move forward as a city. Thats what ive shown. I think the narrative thats missing, after my phones were removed we have not gone backwards. We have not stood still. We showed how we operate during difficult times. You say who is the Point Person who will deal with the business of running the city . The person is every guy. [inaudible] [people shouting] [inaudible question] the allegation that weve reporting for a year. What do you say to that . You said you traveled to countries, you deny you took any kickbacks and intervening on behalf of the turkish government. You denial the allegations in the 54 pages. Listen. [people shouting] my legal team will go over the indictment. We got it today. The News Media received information before we did. As they have been receiving it for the last ten months. It appears as though the goal is to try to try this case publicly and not in any Criminal Justice system. So based on what i read, it is clear that if Oats Campaign violations, i know i dont violate campaigns. If its foreign donors i know i dont take money from foreign donors. I verbalized to that to the team in writing and communications and continue to do that. We look forward to the legal team to handle this as i handle the city of New York and have the Success Weve witnessed in two years and nine months as the city mayor. [people in Audience Shouting and chanting] harris okay. Now that was Mayor Adams and it seemed to be that he was sort of laying out his defense in all of this, too. I will get to an attorney in just a moment. If we can bring it up on the other side of the screen i want to show everybody whats next. The Southern District of New York, The Feds will lay out their case. All the updated information that we will get now confirmed from the indictment that weve all been reading that dropped an hour and ten minutes ago. Maybe not that long ago, 40 minutes ago. But weve been going through it as a team here at fox and we have our details here but what we need is the perspective from the united states that is charging him. We need those federal charges to be laid out along with what he faces, what this battle is truly going to be like in terms of years in prison, if there are any ahead of him. I think Phil Holloway is with me. Phil, i think you said there is no forgiveness, if you will, from federal charges. You had a better word. There is no parole in the federal system. You were asking about how much time he could be facing. Sentencing guidelines are guidelines but as a practical matter they are pretty much followed. If you have a situation where there is no Plea Deal and where someone refuses to accept responsibility, that is a big factor that weighs in favor of a lengthier sentence. So the federal system is very unforgiving in many ways but in particular in that way. One of the things i noted from the Presser Weve been watching, adams is very careful, i think, in his words. He simply says i did not do this. I did not do that and the other things ive been charged with. He didnt get into a lot of detail. He has been coached by his legal team. That being said, i would feel very uncomfortable if i was representing a client out there answering Media Questions like this about a pending indictment. Thats probably going to be the last time we hear from him directly about this. I would imagine and suspect if his lawyers are worth their Salt Theyll Shut him down and prevent him making any additional public comments. Harris you bring up a great point. Kerry urbahn is with us, too. The mayor said his attorneys will reveal that he told his Campaign Staff and others not to do some of the things that were mentioned in this indictment. He was very specific about those Straw Donations funneled from one source through him to the campaign and more specific about just their behavior and how they would handle campaign money. That sounded like laying out a defense. As phil just said, you might not want to do that in public all this much. Certainly within two or three minutes before the News Conference by The Feds begins. Well, putting on my public Relations Hat for a minute. Whoever speaks first typically gets to control the narrative a bit. So i understand the instinct there why Mayor Adams is speaking out and wanting to lay the Ground Work for whatever The Feds will say. We know what they are going to say. They say the opposite saying they have ample evidence and he knew what was happening with Straw Donations. Its illegal in the u. S. To make a political donation through someone elses name. D. O. J. Simply put is alleging that Mayor Adams was actively involved in soliciting foreign money. Funneling it. They would say smuggling it through individuals who false asaid they were the ones donating. The reason the laws are on the books is to prevent foreign influence on u. S. Election shuns. Not just against the law but handbooks and the like say he knowingly violated that. He is saying he has evidence it will move its not the case. Well see. Harris it is interesting. I dont know how much flavor there has been to hold peoples feet to the fire in terms of being close to a principal who might have foreign connections and then acting illegally or inappropriately. Look, i just look at the allegations that have been leveled against Hunter Biden and his father, president jobe joe biden. I thought they better not bring a Fera Charge against him. I thought about that Hunter Biden making money on behalf and receiving money from foreign countries never declared his agency never disclosed that in the way he was supposed to and never charged by d. O. J. That doesnt appear to be part of what they are bringing right now. It is Campaign Finance violations and bribery. Harris bobby, go Back To You and your f. B. I. Acumen. Could there be more to come as they talk to some of these witnesses . Absolutely. I think what you always do in the first indictment harris just as i ask you that question, forgive me. We want to tap in right now. The Southern District of New York begins to lay out its case against the new York City mayor Eric Adams. As the indictment alleges Mayor Adams engaged in a long Running Conspiracy where he accepted Campaign Contributions from foreign donors and corporations. I took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal appeared knew the contributions were attempts by turkish businessmen and officials to buy he accepted well over 100,000 in Luxury Travel benefits from some of the same foreign actors who arranged Prime Minister of the illegal Campaign Contributions including free international Business Class flights. Opulent Hotel Rooms in foreign cities. The mayor had a duty to disclose these gifts on his annual public disclosure forms so the public could see who was giving him what. As we allege, year after year after year he kept the public in the dark. He told the public he received no gifts even though he was secretly being showered with them. We allege he accepted the benefits known they were given to him because of his position. In exchange for some of those benefits he intervened in the Fire Department Inspection process for a building owned and operated by the turkish government allowing it to open even though not passing the fire inspection. The corruption is long rung running. His solicitation of illegal Campaign Contributions began in 2018. After he started raising funds for his 2021 mayoral campaign he agreed to take contributions offered by multiple turkish businessmen. Several of whom he met in turkey. Adams knew these wealthy individuals could not legally donate in a u. S. Election. Federal law prohibits foreign donations. Thats how we protect our elections from foreign influence. Yet adams directed his staff to pursue this illegal money to support his campaign for mayor. As we allege adams continued to pursue foreign money in secret well into 2021. It didnt stop with his first campaign for mayor. As we allege in 2023 the mayor rekindled these corrupt relationships seeking more illegal Campaign Contributions from some of the same foreign sources to support his reelection campaign. Adams also took contributions that broke other laws. As we allege he sought contributions from businessmen far in excess of what the law allowed. He also allegedly sought contributions from corporations which are not allowed to contribute at all in new York City elections. Many of those illegal corporate contributions were Org Naresed by the same people who organized the illegal foreign contributions. Adams disguised them all in the same way. Straw donor contributes someone elses money. Hiding the moneys illegal source such as a foreign businessman, corporation or wealthy New Yorker who already contributed the maximum amount allowed. He circumvented all these laws taking contributions from exactly the sources the law prohibits all to benefit his mayoral campaigns. Now adams also personally benefited from the illegal conduct alleged in the indictment. Adams solicited accepted Luxury Travel benefits from wealthy turkish Business People and one turkish Government Official seeking to gain influence over him. Adams started accepting Travel Benefits as least as early as 2016. He took these benefits nearly every year through 2021. Here are some of the benefits we uncovered during our investigation. In 2016 adams flew to india through turkey and received two free roundtrip upgrades for Business Class seats. The highest class on turkeys national airline. Those upgrades were worth more than 12,000. None of it was publicly disclosed. In 2017 adams accepted free Business Class tickets for himself and Travel Companions to france, turkey and china. He was put up in the Bentley Suite in the same Regis Hotel in istanbul all worth more than 41,000 and none publicly disclosed. Also in 2017 he flew to china again through turkey and accepted two free Business Class tickets for himself and a companion. Those were worth more than 16,000 and none of it was publicly disclosed. In 2018 he flew to hungry through turkey. None was Pub Politicly disclosed. In 2019 he flew to turkey and accepted free Business Class and a free stay in a Hotel Worth more than 9 thousand. None of it was publicly disclosed. In 2021 he had Business Class tickets to istanbul. Yacht tours and meals. He paid a nominal fee to say what we allege were bribes. He canceled the trip at the last minute but what he solicited was worth 21,000. He again through to ghana and accepted ticket up grades and other gifts on a layover in is stan bull. They were worth more than 12,000. Like the other benefits ive run through, none of it was publicly disclosed. I want to be clear. These up grades and free things were not part of a frequent Flier Or Loyalty program available to the general public. As we allege it was a multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single new York City politician on the rise, Eric Adams. This is a chart with all of the undisclosed Travel Benefits that we uncovered during the investigation. We just listed all out here. You see the year, 2016, 2017, 2017, 2018, 2019, and through 2021. The Destination India All The Way to ghana, the benefits the free upgrades or free tickets all together, the hotel stays and the value. If you just sum up all the dollar amounts here, you get to more than 1 hundred thousand. As i said before, every single trip that we list here was undisclosed. As we allege in the indictment, in addition to not disclosing these benefits, adams sometimes created big Paper Trails to try to Cover Up the Travel Benefits he solicited and received. Let me give you one example. Adams emailed to his staff suggesting he paid for his 2017 Business Class flights on the turkish airline when as we allege he did not. Those flights were worth a lot of money. Just one ticket alone costs more than 10,000. Months after taking the flights, adams wrote an email to a Staff Member and told the Staff Member he had left cash in her Desk Drawer and that she should send the money to the turkish airline to pay for a trip he had already taken. As the indictment makes clear, that is just a clumsy coverup. Just because adams received benefits for free doesnt mean there werent strings attached. As we allege, a particular turkish Government Official behind many of the benefits adams sought and accepted gave adams all these things to gain influence over him. We allege adams knew that and took the benefits anyway. We allege when the turkish Government Official needed him adams took corrupt official action in exchange for some of the Luxury Travel benefits. In 2021 the turkish Government Official was trying to open a brandnew high Rise Building in manhattan to house turkeys consulate. There was significant time pressure. The turkish official desperately needed the building to be open in time for a visit for the turkish president. The Fire Safety professionals wouldnt let the Building Open because it hadnt passed an inspection. Not just that. Some of the people at Fdny Thought had so many issues it wasnt safe to occupy. The turkish official said it was his turn to support turkey. Adams delivered and pressured the Fire Department to let the Building Open. The fdny professionals were convinced they would lose their jobs if they didnt back down and so they did. They got out of the way and let the Building Open. The turkish official got what he wanted and as we explained in the indictment just four days after adams held up his end of the bargain, he went right back to soliciting more Travel Benefits from the turkish airline. Now i want to make three things crystal clear. First, the conduct alleged in the indictment, the foreign money, corporate money, bribery, years of concealment is a Grave Breach of the pub politics trust. Public office is a privilege. We allege that he abused that privilege and broke the law. That official eaves serve the people, not a highest or foreign bidder and certainly not a foreign power. These are bright red lines. And we allege the mayor crossed them again and again for years. That is the only reason we are here today. Second, this investigation continues. We continue to dig and we will hold more people accountable. I encourage anyone with information to come forward and to do so before it is too late. Third, the Southern District of New York remains committed to rooting out corruption with Fear Or Favor or not with regard to partisan politics. We arent focus eats on the right or left. Only on right and wrong. That is our duty and well fulfill it. Now todays charges are the product of a tremendous partnership. I want to thank our partners at f. B. I. , new York City department of investigation who have been with us every step of the way. Finally, i want to commend the outstanding Career Prosecutors who are handling this case. Cohen, Robach And Wickstrom and chiefs of the public corruption unit. Its now my pleasure to turn over the podium to f. B. I. Assistant director in charge, james denihee. Good morning and thank you for being here today. The indictment of a sitting mayor is not just another headline. It is a stinging reminder that no one is above the law or beyond reproach. It serves as a sobering moment for all of us who place our trust in elected officials. Todays indictment sends a powerful message to every elected official in this country. Public service is a profound responsibility and should be a noble calling. When thats perverted by Greed And Dishonesty it robs us of our trust. It is a pact between leaders and their communities built on the pillars of trust, accountability, and transparency. When that pact is broken, the Consequences Ripple far beyond one office or one election cycle. We know not all leaders are corrupt. We know there are countless public servants who wake up every day with the intention of doing right by their constituents. But we cannot ignore The Shadow Cast by moments like this. When trust is eroded it takes years, sometimes decades, to rebuild. The weight of todays actions falls not just on the indicted official but on every other Public Official who must now work harder to earn the Publics Confidence in them. Its important to remember Accountability Isnt just about punishing those with alleged wrong doingings. Its about lifting the communities theyve let down. Rebuilding, restoring and reimagining what public servants can and should do. Its up to us to demand more from our leaders, to hold them to the highest standards, and to remind them that the power of public office should never be abused. While some may be disappointed today, let me encourage you not to be defeated. The strength of our communities, our faith in one another, and our collective resilience are far greater than the alleged failings of any one individual. In closing i would like to thank the u. S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and his office, the commissioner and the new York City department of investigation and her team. As well as my team, the public Corruption Squad here at f. B. I. New york. Thank you. Like to welcome to commissioner from the New York office of investigation. Thank you, damian. Good morning. Today for the first time in new York Citys modern history, we announce criminal charges against the sitting mayor of new York City. As our highest elected official, the mayor should set the standard for all of City Government and exemplify the Integrity And Dedication to serving the public that all New Yorkers deserve. Instead, the indictment Unsealed Today alleges that Mayor Adams abused his Power And Position for nearly a decade as brooklyn Borough President and as mayor to enrich himself and his mayoral campaigns. As charged, he sought and received illegal Campaign Contributions, Luxury Travel, and other personal benefits from foreign nationals, as well as individuals and businesses. He allegedly took steps to conceal those illegal contributions and personal benefits and involved City Employees and Campaign Staff in that concealment. As the indictment explains, this kind of corruption has real costs to the city and to the public. As alleged, the mayors 2021 campaign falsely certified compliance with Campaign Finance laws in order to conceal those illegal Campaign Contributions and as a result of those false certifications, received over 10 Million in public matching funds. The mayors alleged Acceptance And Concealment of illegal contributions and personal benefits gave overseas benefactors, wealthy individuals, and businesses undue influence over the mayor. Influence that federal and local laws seek to prevent. As charged, in exchange for certain personal benefits, the mayor pressured the new York City Fire Department to forego a required Fire Safety inspection before the opening of the new turkish consulate building. As the Citys Inspector general, the department of investigation, a city agency, conducts its investigations confidently and wholly independent of City Hall we followed the facts and seeking to hold wrongdoers accountable no matter their role or title. Unique access to City Records and expertise in matters of City Government make us a critical partner in the fight to root out corruption. Working closely with our Law Enforcement colleagues at the f. B. I. And the u. S. Attorneys office. If you have information about this case or about illegal conduct by any new York City official or employee, i encourage you to contact d. O. I. By email at tip line doi. Nyc. Com or by phone 2128252828. I want to thank the u. S. Attorneys office for the Southern District of New York and the f. B. I. For their partnership on this investigation. I want to recognize and thank the dedicated, hard working d. O. I. Investigators handling this matter. Harris all right. She is giving that Phone Number out. Well get it on the screen. Remember, just previously from the Southern District of New York it was said you better come forth before it is too late. Ill go to bobby first with all of his f. B. I. Acumen. Bobby, what does that mean . It means the Phone Lines are burning up with people potentially going to be wrapped up in this thing and they will call and try to make deals with the Southern District. So you will have people cooperating in this investigation. Mayor adams is going to have to appear at 26 federal plaza to get a Mug Shot and fingerprinted and federal courthouse and appear before a magistrate to be officially charged with the crimes. Harris thats whats next. Kerri urbahn is with me, too. What turkey may have wanted, other countries were mentioned in all of that. We learned so much of these opening statements now from the federal officials. But the detail around what turkey may have wanted, how critical is it to know that as part of the investigation . Its important for sure. But i think Mayor Adams is also going to have an interesting could have a good defense. The basic facts that are turkey wanted this building built in time for their president s arrival so he could see it. Sounded like fdny was being slow. The context were missing is fdny notoriously slow and irritated Mayor Adams in the past. Im interested in that. Turkey starts pressuring sand saying we have to get this building. Can you push this through . He pushes it through without the inspection. In the indictment they say the person supposedly going to conduct this inspection said he would be fired if he didnt acquiesce. That seems to be one of their only pieces of evidence of quid pro quo. They talk about discounts on airlines. What i was looking and listening for. What did they get in return for giving that . So if its only this fire inspection, i dont know how compelling that is. Well see what Mayor Adams has to say about that. Harris marc, you have been looking at the person who would take over if the governor, kathy hochul, if she were to say you are out. Next guy in. Germane williams. Scary, a far left radical ally of aoc, was arrested at a proillegal immigration protest. Ran for Lieutenant Governor against kathy hochul. While campaigning said i was first elected to publicly support occupy Wall Street. I believe most democrats believe if democratic socialism. I am a Democratic Socialist and what most people want and said we have trump in the White House because bigots and naziss spouse their convictions and the democratic party didnt have the courage to do the same. He considers maga republicans bigots and nazis and thinks the democratic party is too far to the right. Harris to explain why he would be in the pecking order. He is not the deputy mayor. He is the public advocate. So we are talking about what would be next in all of this if adams were removed by the governor. I have been told by my team and thank you, its germane williams. First of all. It is very hard for Mayor Adams to continue to do his job and fight this. He is an executive. The job of being mayor of New York is huge and you have to have 100 of your attention on it. If you cant do that you cant do the job. New york would take a lurch to the far left. A city that is already under the pressure of all these illegal migrants spending 5 Billion a year, almost the same amount of money as the Police Budget for the entire city supporting illegal migrants. People are fleeing the city going to florida and texas to get away. If he puts on occupy Wall Street Democratic Socialist mayor in an acting capacity in charge of the city and implements those policies it would be a disaster for New York. Harris i want to bring in Phil Holloway. Well wrap it up on the Faulkner Focus covering the breaking news. After watching those statements from federal officials, your advice to the mayor would be what . First off, he needs to stop talking and needs to stop making public statements. Let his lawyers focus on doing their job, which i suspect to kerris point is pointing out this is more like cutting through bureaucratic Red Tape than receiving some type of benefit in exchange like in a quid pro quo. I was looking for more substance from the federal authorities there. I didnt see it. I think Marcs Point on the politics is correct. I want to see how this investigation started and why. Harris it might make clear why he is willing to stay and stick it out. Kerri said she didnt see much looking for the information and evidence. Well cover it all as we always do right here on fox. Outnumbered starts now