Federal prosecutors who indicted Mayor Eric Adams on corruption charges last week told a judge Thursday that at least part of the case against him includes classified material that could harm national security if released. He said it was included.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a letter that prosecutors will meet District Judge Dale E. Ho in a secure courtroom without Adams’ attorney present because “the government intends to discuss certain classified information.” He said that he had requested a confidential meeting.
It’s unclear what information in the Adams case is so sensitive that prosecutors are trying to keep it out of open court, but such efforts to comply with the law, known as the Confidential Information Procedures Act, do not necessarily mean that the evidence against Adams is It does not indicate. Daniel Richman, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches at Columbia University, said it was worse and more serious than previously known.
Richman said that because U.S. intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency, regularly monitor the communications of foreigners, some of that information may be used by Adams to receive discounted airfare or other travel benefits. He said it was no surprise that the case could be related to what prosecutors say was a crime. From the Turkish government.
“I don’t think this necessarily suggests anything more than the fact that foreign actors were involved and may have been surveilled,” Richman said. “When it comes to foreign agents, we cast a pretty wide net.”
Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, said in court Wednesday that he was not concerned about the evidence, classified or otherwise, that prosecutors planned to release.
“We believe they have no evidence whatsoever to prove these charges in this case,” he said.
Adams faces five federal charges, including bribery, fraud and solicitation of illegal foreign campaign contributions, resulting from an investigation that began in 2021 before he was elected mayor. Prosecutors say they received illegal campaign donations from Turkey in exchange for official measures, including pressuring the fire department to allow the opening of a new building to house the Turkish consulate despite problems with its fire protection system. , claims to have received discounts on airfare and luxury hotel suites. .
Mr. Adams denied the charges and insisted he would not resign. His attorney filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case. Spiro has been unusually aggressive in defending the mayor, accusing prosecutors of misconduct in illegally leaking information about the case to reporters.
Richman said prosecutions involving foreign government officials often involve classified information that requires special treatment under the Secret Information Procedures Act. One recent such case involved the prosecution of Sen. Robert Menendez, who was convicted in July of charges including bribery and extortion after a trial that required several hearings on classified evidence. This is what I did.
