Mayor Eric Adams’ lawyers request a hearing on alleged grand jury secrecy breaches in court filing.
The legal team representing Mayor Eric Adams has accused federal prosecutors of leaking information related to the investigation that led to the mayor’s recent indictment. In a court filing on Tuesday, one of Mr. Adams’s attorneys, Alex Spiro, highlighted articles in The New York Times that had detailed the investigation’s progress over the past year. The lawyers argue that these reports have unfairly influenced public opinion against the mayor.
The filing asserts that by the time the charges against Mayor Adams were made public on September 26, 2024, much of the indictment’s details and the evidence supporting the government’s case had already been widely circulated in the media. The defense team claims that this pre-existing knowledge has created a bias against the mayor.
The court filing was submitted five days after the indictment was announced and a day after Mayor Adams’s lawyers sought the dismissal of a bribery charge against him. This marks the beginning of what is expected to be a protracted legal battle, as the sitting mayor of New York City faces criminal charges for the first time in recent history.
Despite pressure from other New York politicians to resign, Mayor Adams has been actively working to maintain his political standing. He has engaged in public appearances, such as visiting churches and holding press conferences, to garner support. Governor Kathy Hochul, who holds the authority to remove the mayor from office, has not taken any action in this regard.
The legal proceedings in Mayor Adams’s case are likely to unfold over an extended period, with both the prosecution and defense gearing up for a contentious legal battle. The mayor’s team is pushing back against the charges and the alleged leaks of information, while also working to secure public support to weather the political storm. Governor Hochul’s stance on the matter remains to be seen as the case progresses through the legal system.
Source: The NY Times
