Timeline of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ federal corruption charges, history with Trump
Embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked for voter's trust and thanked the Justice Department Tuesday after the agency, a day earlier, reportedly directed prosecutors to drop a federal corruption case filed against him.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, in a two-page memo addressed to prosecutors in the Southern District of New York Monday, ordered the swift dismissal of criminal charges against Adams, Reuters reported. In the memo, Bove argued the mayor's case was distracting him from dealing with illegal immigration, violent crime and his reelection campaign.
In a 57-page indictment filed in September, federal prosecutors claim Adams quietly solicited and accepted illegal gifts and campaign donations from wealthy foreigners including accepting luxury airline tickets, meals, and hotel stays.
The request from the DOJ to Manhattan prosecutors comes after speculation President Donald Trump would seek to end the case against Adams, a Democrat, to whom he has grown sympathetic. The Republican president previously said he would consider pardoning Adams and called him a political prosecution victim.
Adams, who has proclaimed his innocence, calling the charges against him baseless, thanked the Justice Department on Tuesday for "its honesty" and said the move ends “a monthslong saga that put me, my family, and this city through an unnecessary ordeal.”
Paste BN has reached out to The Southern District of New York.
Here's a timeline of the federal corruption allegations against the mayor including when he started connecting with Trump.
Timeline of Mayor Eric Adams' political career and corruption allegations
2006: Adams was elected as state senator and went on to serve four terms.
2013: Adams was elected Brooklyn borough president.
2016: Adams reportedly gets free upgrades to business class for two round-trip flights from New York to India via Turkey.
2017: Adams reportedly receives business class tickets for three on round trip from New York to France, Turkey, and China; and a heavily discounted stay in Bentley Suite of St. Regis Istanbul. That same year, he receives business class tickets for two on a round trip from New York to China.
2018: Prosecutors said Adams, who by then made known his plans to run for NYC mayor, accepted and sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 campaign "as well as other things of value from foreign nationals." He reportedly received an upgrade to business class for two on a round trip from New York to Hungary.
2019: Free upgrade to business class for one on a flight from New York to Turkey; free stay at Cosmopolitan Suite of St. Regis Istanbul; free meals, transportation, and entertainment in Istanbul.
2020: Adams formally announced his mayoral campaign promising to lower crime and prioritize public health during the height of the COVID pandemic. At the time, Adams called himself the "Joe Biden of Brooklyn."
2021: Adams won the city's mayoral election to become only the second Black man to assume the office. That same year, he got a free upgrade to business class for two on a round trip from New York to Ghana; as well as free meal and transportation during a layover in Istanbul.
April 2023: Adams complained about Trump's presence in New York City and attacked House Republicans for using the city to score political points about crime.
September 2024: Adams was indicted and pleaded not guilty to five federal criminal charges of accepting bribes, wire fraud and illegal campaign contributions.
October 2024: At a charity dinner, Trump publicly told Adams: "We were persecuted, Eric. I was persecuted, and so are you, Eric." Adams declined the opportunity to disavow Trump's support.
December 2024: Adams met with Trump's incoming border czar, Tom Homan.
January 2025: Adams meets then-President-elect Trump at his Mar-a-Lago private club in Florida. That same month, The New York Times reported, he attended the president's inauguration, skipping two events he was set to attend in NYC on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
February 2025: The DOJ reportedly orders federal prosecutors to dismiss corruption charges against Adams.
Contributing: Christopher Cann and Rachel Barber
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.