A witness recently testified before the federal grand jury that indicted Mayor Adams on corruption charges this fall, his attorney revealed in a court filing Tuesday — indicating the Turkey-related investigation into the mayor is still very active.
The filing from Alex Spiro, Adams’ lead defense attorney, identified the witness by initials. The initials were redacted from the filing, making the identity of the witness unclear.
Spiro did write that a “credible source” told him this past Sunday that the New York Times has confirmed the identity of the witness “who recently testified before the grand jury and the sum and substance of that witness’s testimony.” As of late Tuesday morning, The Times had not published any story about new grand jury testimony in the Adams probe.
Spiro argued the only “plausible source” for the information he says was obtained by the newspaper is the federal authorities leading the investigation into the mayor.
Though Manhattan Federal Court Judge Dale Ho already rejected a request from Spiro last month for an evidentiary hearing into his claims about illegal grand jury leaks from prosecutors, Spiro says the judge should reconsider in light of the latest alleged disclosures.
Reiterating his past request, Spiro wrote in his new filing that Ho should sanction prosecutors over the alleged leaks “up to and including dismissal of the indictment.” He also wrote that the judge should put an indefinite pause on all grand jury proceedings until an evidentiary hearing can be held.
“To prevent further inevitable leaks, the Court should exercise its equitable powers and halt any further grand jury proceedings pending the hearing and resolution of this motion,” he wrote.
A spokesman fort the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which indicted Adams, declined to comment on Spiro’s filing.
Spiro didn’t respond to emailed questions Tuesday about the recent grand jury testimony. In a sign he is displeased with the nature of the new grand jury testimony, Spiro wrote it “falsely suggests” something, though it’s unclear what that something is as the rest of the sentence is redacted in his filing.
The grand jury indicted Adams in September on five criminal counts alleging he solicited bribes and illegal campaign cash, mostly from Turkish government operatives, in exchange for political favors. Adams has pleaded not guilty and is expected to stand trial in April — just weeks before he faces several challengers in June’s Democratic mayoral primary.
Spiro’s latest filing comes after prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said in open court in October they were “quite likely” to bring a superseding indictment charging the mayor with more crimes.
The revelation that the grand jury has heard more testimony in recent weeks suggests prosecutors are still pursuing new evidence.
Manhattan feds wrote in a filing Monday that Erden Arkan, a Turkish-born businessman referenced in Adams’ indictment as one of his co-conspirators, has informed them he plans to plead guilty to his role in funneling illegal straw donations to the mayor’s 2021 campaign on behalf of the Turkish government.
Arkan hasn’t returned requests for comment this week.
With Josephine Stratman
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