By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) -New York City Mayor Eric Adams will go on trial on corruption charges starting April 21, 2025, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday, placing the proceedings in the middle of what promises to be a bruising reelection campaign for the embattled Democrat.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho set the date at a hearing in Manhattan federal court over the opposition of Adams’ defense lawyer Alex Spiro, who wanted the trial over the mayor’s alleged dealings with Turkish officials to end by March, well before the Democratic primary election in June.
Adams, 64, pleaded not guilty last month. Spiro predicted he would be acquitted at trial, and warned of “grave, grave democratic concerns” if he does not have enough time to clear his name before voters go to the polls.
“It doesn’t give him a realistic chance,” Spiro said.
Ho said prosecutors needed more time to review their evidence and hand it over to the defense, which is known as discovery. Some of the material could be classified, resulting in more complex procedures.
“I do think it’s important for the public to have an answer one way or another, but I also have to be mindful of the discovery process,” Ho said.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan in September charged Adams with accepting bribes including flight upgrades and luxury hotel stays, as well as illegal campaign contributions, in exchange for pressuring city officials to allow Turkey’s new 36-story consulate to open despite safety concerns.
The trial is expected to last about a month, prosecutors have said.
A former police officer who rose to the rank of captain, Adams is the first of the city’s 110 mayors to be charged with a federal crime while in office. At least seven senior officials in his administration have resigned in recent months as multiple federal corruption probes engulf City Hall.
Adams, who took office in January 2022, has declined to resign despite calls to do so from several senior Democrats in the largest U.S. city, including U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler.
Spiro last month told reporters the case rests on the assertions of a staffer who falsely implicated Adams. He has also minimized the severity of the charges, calling the case the “airline upgrade corruption case.”
Turkey’s foreign ministry has said Ankara was following the proceedings in Adams’ case closely and that its diplomats adhered to protocol.
Adams last month received an unlikely message of support from former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president in Tuesday’s upcoming election, who faces federal charges over efforts to overturn his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump, who has pleaded not guilty in that case, also was convicted of 34 felony counts in state court in New York City.
“Good luck with everything, they went after you,” Trump said in a light-hearted speech at a charity gala in New York on Oct. 17. “I don’t like what they do.”
Adams has not been as critical of Trump as other Democrats. Asked earlier this week if he believed Trump was a “fascist,” as Vice President Kamala Harris has asserted, Adams said no.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
