Mayor Adams’ defense team on Tuesday accused Justice Department prosecutors of leaking information about the criminal investigation leading to his indictment on corruption charges.
In a flurry of court filings, Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro asked a judge to hold an evidentiary hearing into more than a year’s worth of investigative reporting about the criminal probe of his administration to request sanctions over alleged grand jury secrecy violations. The aggressive defensive strategy comes less than a week after Adams’s indictment.
Spiro pointed the finger at the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, but did not provide evidence it leaked anything to outlets, including The New York Times and CNN. He argued the legal standard to request an evidentiary hearing on the matter — it being “susceptible [to] the interpretation” that a violation occurred — was met based on the limited number of people who knew the information reported.
Chiefly citing reporting in The Times, the attorney detailed stories about searches by federal authorities at the homes of Adams’s top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, subpoenas Adams received, and the focus and targets of the investigation, Adams’s imminent indictment, and other topics.
The Times reported that Adams was expected to be indicted late Wednesday, attributing to sources familiar with the matter, as did outlets including the Daily News, the New York Post, and The City. No media organization reported the charges that were unsealed the following morning.
In Tuesday’s filing, Spiro said the mayor’s defense team contacted the prosecutor’s office about leaks on June 7 and August 13. He said the defense may seek the indictment be dismissed, that evidence in the case be suppressed, that prosecutors be held in contempt and other measures.
“The prejudice from these leaks has been severe. 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 filing reads.
Adams, who was arraigned on the charges Friday, is expected to appear before the judge assigned to the case for the first time on Wednesday.
The mayor has pleaded not guilty to charges including wire fraud, bribery, and conspiracy. He’s accused of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign contributions from overseas donors, more than $100,000 in luxury travel perks in exchange for doing favors for the Turkish government, and engaged in other corrupt activity dating back to his days as Brooklyn borough president.
Multiple senior members of Adams’s administration have had their homes searched and phones seized in the ongoing criminal investigation, which is believed to span multiple areas of interest.
The probe has intensified in tandem with multiple high-profile resignations in recent weeks, including Adams’s former police commissioner Edward Caban, schools chancellor David Banks, and the mayor’s chief legal adviser Lisa Zornberg.
The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment. The News reached out to a spokesperson for The Times.
Originally Published:
