New York City Mayor Eric Adams to go on trial April 21, federal judge says

New York City Mayor Eric Adams will stand trial on April 21 on charges he accepted flight upgrades and other travel perks as well as illegal campaign donations from Turkish individuals who sought to trade on his influence as a government official.

U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho set the trial date following a Friday afternoon hearing on a defense motion to dismiss the bribery charge against Adams. Ho said he plans to rule on the matter "shortly."

Adams, a first-term Democrat who intends to seek reelection, pleaded not guilty to the charges in the five-count indictment in September.

A prosecutor in court Friday said its team had turned over 1.6 terabytes of data as part of the discovery process. He said he expected to provide all discovery to the defense by the court's Dec. 4 deadline.

Ho, in setting the April 21 trial date, said he was "very seriously" considering the interests of the mayor and the public. The prosecution had suggested the trial begin in May.

Adams' defense attorney Alex Spiro raised the issue of the indictment itself having negative consequences to the mayor's political career in pushing for a March trial, arguing that if it were to begin later, Adams wouldn't have time to gather required signatures to get on the ballot, campaign and fundraise.

Spiro also cited recent public polling indicating some New Yorkers had abandoned the notion of the mayor's "presumption of innocence," which all defendants are legally entitled to.

The mayoral primary election is scheduled for June 2025.

Spiro said he was pushing for Adams' right to a speedy trial "so this man can clear his good name" and continue running the city.

Prosecutors have alleged that Adams, in exchange for travel upgrades valued at about $100,000 and illegal straw donations, pressured the FDNY commissioner and other fire officials to open the Turkish Consulate in Manhattan ahead of a visit by the country’s president.

Adams defense attorney John Bash on Friday argued before Ho for the bribery charge to be dismissed, calling the government’s allegations "vague and amorphous" as he cited Supreme Court precedent.

Prosecutor Hagan Scotten said the defense "might be entitled to a narrow jury instruction" but not a dismissal of the charge. He added that a defendant didn’t have to have a supervisor role in order to exert "pressure."

Prosecutors have said that email messages between Adams and the FDNY commissioner, which were quoted by prosecutors in the indictment, show that Adams asked for the building to be opened despite deficiencies in the fire alarm system.

Adams was the Brooklyn borough president at the time, but had won the Democratic primary and was considered the leading contender to be the next mayor.

The judge expressed agreement with the defense at one point during the hearing, saying it "seems a little weird that the jurisdictional connection here is when he was Brooklyn borough president ... but his ability to exert pressure" comes from somewhere else.

"There is something about that seems a little strange," Ho said.

Adams is due back in court for a conference on Dec. 20.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.