Mayor Eric Adams' lawyer files brief arguing media leaks have violated right to fair trial

Mayor Eric Adams' lawyers sought sanctions Tuesday against Manhattan federal prosecutors on the mayor's corruption case for violating his right to a fair trial by allegedly leaking grand jury testimony to the press, according to court filings.

An attorney on the mayor's defense team, Alex Spiro, asked Manhattan federal judge Dale Ho to schedule a hearing on the issue, and if the allegations are proved, bring penalties against the prosecutors.

"Given the government’s refusal to police its own misconduct, the court must intervene to protect the mayor’s pretrial and trial rights, [and] preserve the integrity of the judicial process," Spiro wrote in his motion, adding that the judge must ensure future compliance with grand jury secrecy rules "in a case where the government admits it is still looking for evidence to support its theories."

On Monday, lawyers for the mayor filed a motion to dismiss at least part of the case based on the alleged leaks and accusations the federal government twisted ordinary constituent services into a nonexistent bribery scheme and relied on a single, biased witness "with an axe to grind."

Last week, Adams became the first sitting New York City mayor in modern history to be indicted. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams on Sept. 26 announced that the mayor had been charged with soliciting and accepting campaign contributions from Turkish nationals and subverting campaign finance law by hiding the origin of those donations through straw donors and bribery.

Spiro, in the 29-page brief, said news of the indictment broke before the mayor’s legal team found out about it. Besides, "The Times," according to the motion, the only others who could have known were prosecutors, grand jurors and court staff.

"But of those," the brief says, "only the prosecution team would have been privy to the government’s plan to announce additional details the next day ... It is therefore clear that the prosecution team is responsible for the leak."

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment. 

On Tuesday at his weekly press briefing, Adams assailed the drip-drip of leaks about the federal investigation.

"My understanding of grand jury testimony and actions are secret," he said. "We have a system of justice where we try cases in courtrooms, not in boardrooms or the streets. And I spoke with my counsel over and over again, and stated to them, 'you know, this is just not right.' "

Supporters of Adams, including churchgoers and members of the NYPD's Black fraternal organization the Guardians, rallied Tuesday evening on the steps of City Hall to reject calls for the mayor's ouster. Adams, who attended, vowed he wouldn’t resign, and the crowd chanted, "four more years!"

News of the investigation into Adams broke nearly a year ago, in November 2023, when the New York Times and other outlets reported that the FBI had raided the Crown Heights, Brooklyn, home of the mayor’s chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs. Suggs has not been criminally charged.

Spiro notes in the motion that the newspaper reported it had a copy of the search warrant, which has yet to be made public, and mentioned that three iPhones, two laptops and papers had been seized.

Days later, CNN reported that the investigation focused on campaign donations to Adams by foreign nations.

In the indictment, prosecutors charge that Adams received expensive upgrades on Turkish Airlines, among other luxury services, and in exchange leaned on the FDNY to open a newly constructed 36-story Manhattan Turkish consulate despite fire safety issues.

Public sentiment has turned against the mayor because of the leaks, according to the brief.

"A cascade of critical articles based on one-sided, misleading leaks by the government has eroded public support for the Mayor long before he was ever charged with a crime and able to defend himself in court," the lawyer wrote.

Attorneys for the mayor brought the issue up to federal prosecutors earlier in the year and asked them to stop the leaks but the U.S. Attorney’s office did not admit it was the source of the information, the motion says.

“Nor does the government appear to have taken any action whatsoever to try to turn off the spigot of confidential investigative information that began flowing to the media nearly a year before the Mayor was charged,” the lawyer said.

The result of the leaks, Spiro said, has also been a drumbeat of public officials calling for Adams’ resignation, making it difficult to perform his elected duties. Additionally, it may have turned the pool of potential jurors against the mayor.

"And by leaking information to the press, the government has infringed the mayor’s right to a taint-free grand jury process and impeded his ability to obtain a fair trial from an impartial jury," the lawyer said.

Washington, D.C. lawyer Mark Zaid, who represents whistleblowers in the national intelligence community, said that the mayor's lawyers could be onto something.

"Obviously, there can be significant consequences, to include criminal, civil, judicial and administrative/ethical penalties, for any proved leaks of grand jury information," Zaid said in an email. "If it were shown to originate from the prosecution, or at least the federal government, it could also undermine the continuing prosecution of Mayor Adams. Alas, these leak cases are often difficult to pin down given the number of people who usually have access to information but I have little doubt the Court will take the matter seriously and express serious caution to the prosecution to get their house in order."

With Matthew Chayes