"And a target I became"

The Mayor of New York City was indicted #97

Hello from a rainy Saturday morning in New York City, where yesterday Mayor Eric Adams pled not guilty to federal corruption charges in a courtroom not too far from his office at City Hall (and his office at 375 Pearl Street.) I wanted to send this yesterday as I usually do but the news has been unrelenting. To make it easier I’ll run everything down again by day because a lot happened before news broke of the pending indictment Wednesday.

On Saturday there was a tweet from a nameless account on X tagging me and another reporter saying the interim police commissioner Tom Donlon’s home had been raided by federal authorities. 

My first thought was no way, but then I remembered that anything can happen in the greatest city in the world. So I called Donlon, and he somehow picked up, and when I asked if there was any federal visit or anything raided he said he hadn’t been home in a while before hanging up. But he didn’t deny it. I flagged for editors, and then enjoyed my Saturday, and hours later while at Sammy’s Roumanian for a friend’s birthday dinner I saw the NYPD’s statement that a search warrant was executed at Donlon’s residences, with investigators on the hunt for confidential documents he had from two decades ago. At least he didn’t lie to me!

On Sunday my colleague Greg Smith published a story about Tim Pearson holding up a contract for migrant services.

I don’t remember what happened on Monday.

On Tuesday the mayor again defended himself at his weekly off-topic briefing, and then hours later news broke that schools chancellor David Banks, whose home was raided and phones were seized weeks ago, would retire at the end of the calendar year. News also broke that emergency management commissioner Zach Iscol was talking about leaving, which he initially denied before he was reminded that his friends told POLITICO and then he said, ok yes I was just talking about leaving but now I’m not!

On Wednesday the mayor announced the new schools chancellor. City of Yes passed in city planning. That day the rumors of a pending indictment was at an orange level until it peaked at red, with everybody texting and calling about something happening, possibly soon. 

That night the news broke that Mayor Eric Adams, the city’s 110th mayor, was indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges. He released a video defending himself with a line that felt like poetry: “And a target I became.”

He addressed the media Thursday outside Gracie Mansion in one of the weirdest and wildest media events I’ve ever seen. He and his supporters gathered under a tent, protestors drowned him out with insults and even one supporter kept talking over him. A car alarm went off at various points. He denied any wrongdoing and everything in the indictment, and walked off to chants of “Resign! Resign! Resign!”

He plead not guilty on Friday. City workers spoke to my colleagues Sam, Claudia, and Reuven to express how they feel about everything. The oppressive humidity made me want to scream. 

And then the news broke that Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the mayor’s closest advisor who’s known him for 40 years, landed at the airport from a trip in Japan and was greeted by investigators both federal and local who took her phone and served her with a subpoena to appear before a grand jury. Her home was raided (I never knew they ran like that.) Ingrid defended herself on her lawyer Arthur Aidala’s radio show.

And here we are, Saturday, and as I type this I’m bracing for more news. The mayor is due back in court on Wednesday, Oct. 2, but he hopes the case is tossed out. I hope you all have a great and relaxing weekend, especially – ESPECIALLY – all my fellow reporters and journalists. 

🎧LISTEN🎧

We recorded an emergency FAQ episode [FAQ]
The Off Topic/On Politics take [NY1]

”Don't let 'em put you down, don't let 'em push you around/
Don't let 'em ever change your point of view” [YOUTUBE]

Thanks for reading!