Mayor Eric Adams claimed he was a victim of political persecution after he became the first sitting New York City mayor to be indicted on Wednesday — insisting he was targeted for standing up to the Harris-Biden administration as migrants flooded the city.
“I will fight these injustices with every ounce of my strength and my spirit. If I’m charged, I know I am innocent,” Hizzoner, 64, said in a video statement.
“I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth. New Yorkers know my story. They know where I come from. I have been fighting injustice my entire life,” he continued.
Eric Adams indicted: Live updates after NYC mayor hit with indictment
“That fight has continued as your mayor. Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics.”
The migrant crisis has likely cost the Big Apple more than $5 billion, according to the city’s own online asylum-seeker funding tracker, which showed it’s spent $4.88 billion combined through fiscal years 2023 and ’24.
New York City has likely surpassed $5 billion in spending on services for migrants — including nearly $2 billion alone on housing the scores of new arrivals flooding into the Big Apple, according to city data.
Adams’ administration has even projected the cost could balloon to $10 billion over the three-year period ending June 30, 2025.
The latest stats show 217,300 migrants have flooded Gotham since spring 2022 — forcing the city to open emergency shelters to deal with the crush. As of this week, 61,400 migrants are in city care.
Adams said that he “always knew” he would become a target.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became.”
A defiant Adams also said he would not leave office.
“Now, if I am charged, many may say I should resign because I cannot manage the city while fighting the case,” he said.
“But I have been facing these lies for months since I began to speak out for all of you and their investigations started yet the city has continued to improve,” he continued.
“Make no mistake — you elected me to lead this city and lead it, I will.”
Hizzoner’s comments come as it was revealed Wednesday night he was indicted by a grand jury on charges tied to a federal probe that has hampered his administration and has now led to a chorus of city pols calling him to resign.
“For months, leaks and rumors have been aimed at me in an attempt to undermine my credibility and paint me as guilty. Just this past week, they searched the home of our new police commissioner looking for documents from 20 years ago, just one week after he joined my administration,” Adams said in reference to a raid of interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlon’s home on Saturday.
He concluded by asking New Yorkers for their prayers and patience following the extraordinary day in Big Apple history. He is expected to surrender to authorities early next week, sources told The Post.
The shocking development comes as multiple probes swirled around Adams and some of his top aides and police officials.
Hizzoner has not been told of the expected indictment, sources close to Adams said late Wednesday.
While details of the accusations remained unclear, they are believed to be tied to Turkey’s government illegally funneling money into his 2021 mayoral campaign in exchange for approval of the Turkish consulate in Manhattan, according to sources.
