Mayor Adams’ historic corruption trial will start in late April 2025 — just over two months before he’s set to face off against multiple challengers in next summer’s Democratic mayoral primary.
During a Friday afternoon hearing, Manhattan Federal Court Judge Dale Ho, who oversees Adams’ case, set an April 21 start date for the mayor’s trial.
Adams’ attorneys had initially asked for the trial to start in March, arguing he would otherwise run the risk of it not being completed before New Yorkers head to the polls for the June 24 mayoral primary. Prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which brought the case against Adams, had asked for a May trial start, saying they needed time to filter out classified national security material that has come up in the case before the jury hears it.
Ho argued in Friday’s hearing that the April start is a reasonable compromise that satisfies the demands from both sides.
“That’s the earliest date I think we can realistically shoot for,” Ho said.
Adams, whose approval rating has plunged to historic lows amid his indictment, is running in June’s mayoral primary against Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. All of Adams’ challengers have called on him to resign since he became the first sitting New York City mayor in modern history to face criminal charges.
The trial start date ruling came after Friday’s hearing had been called to review a motion filed by Alex Spiro, Adams’ lawyer, seeking to get the bribery count in the mayor’s indictment dismissed.
Prosecutors didn’t meet the legal requirements for that charge, Spiro has argued in pushing Ho to throw it out. Ho did not immediately rule on Spiro’s request, but said he’ll do so soon.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which also include counts of conspiracy, fraud and soliciting political donations from foreign nationals.
Adams is accused of accepting tens of thousands of dollars in lavish bribes like vacation perks, flight upgrades and hotel stays — all paid for by associates of the Turkish government who later allegedly cashed in by asking the then-up-and-coming politician to carry out political favors.
Adams moved to dismiss the bribery count just days after the indictment was unsealed in late September. Spiro argued in court papers that the allegations against the mayor were “extraordinarily vague” and based largely on the word of a disgruntled Adams staffer — a reference to Rana Abbasova, who is expected to be a star witness for the government.
Abbasova was fired from her City Hall post in October after prosecutors turned over evidence that Adams’ team said could be used to discredit her.
“It is at best an allegation that the official intended to ‘curry favor’ with Adams — a classic gratuity (and the kind of gratuity that even federal gratuity prohibitions do not criminalize),” Spiro wrote in his Sept. 30 motion to dismiss.
On Thursday, in a separate ruling, Judge Ho rejected Adams’ request to look into the mayor’s claim that authorities leaked confidential information to the press about his prosecution. Adams’ team had previously asked for sanctions and an evidentiary hearing to examine possible leaks.
“Mayor Adams has failed to show that Government attorneys or their agents, as opposed to other individuals, were the source of information in the articles,” Ho wrote.
Adams is facing five criminal counts alleging he sought and accepted bribes and illegal campaign donations from the Turkish government and others in exchange for helping fast-track a Turkish consulate in Manhattan, among other political favors.
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