NYC Mayor Eric Adams Administration Dogged by Investigations

Happy Wednesday! This is a friendly reminder to check your filing cabinets in case you have, oh, we don’t know, maybe a rare copy of the U.S. Constitution stuck between folders of 15-year-old receipts and W-2s from three jobs ago. 

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

• President Joe Biden on Tuesday addressed a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City for the final time as president. He warned that the world is at an “inflection point,” and offered a lesson for the leaders at the meeting: “Some things are more important than staying in power,” he said, in reference to his decision to withdraw from the presidential race. The president also urged continued support for Ukraine and expressed his hope that a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas would be completed soon—though members of his administration have privately said that a deal before he leaves office in January is unlikely. Meanwhile, also speaking from New York, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in Gaza while signaling the regime was in favor of reopening negotiations for a nuclear deal.
• The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday said it killed the commander of Hezbollah’s missile and rocket force, Ibrahim Qubaisi, in a targeted strike on Beirut. Israel and the Iran-backed terrorist organization continued exchanging cross-border fire on Tuesday after the IDF said it had hit some 1,600 targets across Lebanon on Monday. Early Wednesday morning, Hezbollah launched a “Qader 1” ballistic missile toward central Israel, triggering air raid sirens for millions of people living in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The attack, which was intercepted by air defenses, marked Hezbollah’s first attempted strike on Israel’s second-most populous city and economic center.
• USNS Big Horn—the oiler assigned to refuel the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group currently deployed to the Middle East—sustained damage while anchored off the coast of Oman overnight on Monday, Navy officials confirmed Tuesday, adding that the crew was safe. It’s not clear what caused the damage, though a Navy spokesperson said an investigation is underway and there are currently no indications of an oil leak. The Big Horn is the only Navy oiler currently operating in the Middle East serving to fuel the aircraft associated with the carrier strike group, as well as the associated vessels that do not run on nuclear power as the USS Lincoln does. It’s not clear when a replacement will be in the area. 
• Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday affirmed her support for ending the Senate filibuster—functionally a 60-vote threshold to pass legislation in the upper chamber of Congress—in order to codify Roe v. Wade. In response, independent Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, formerly a Democrat who voted to maintain the filibuster, said he would be withholding his endorsement of the vice president. “She knows the filibuster is the holy grail of democracy,” Manchin, who is retiring at the end of his term in January, said Tuesday. “It’s the only thing that keeps us talking and working together. If she gets rid of that, then this would be the House on steroids.”
• Federal investigators on Tuesday arrested the son of Ryan Routh—the man arrested in connection to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump last week—on charges of possessing child pornography. Investigators searching Oran Routh’s home on Saturday in relation to his father’s arrest found “hundreds of child pornography files” on an SD card at his residence, according to a court filing.
• U.S. consumer confidence saw its largest drop since 2021 from August to September, according to the Confidence Board metric. The decrease—consumer confidence in September was 98.7, compared to 105.6 in August—is likely owed to concern about the U.S. labor market, which has shown signs of weakness in recent months. 
• The Department of Justice on Tuesday sued Visa, alleging the financial giant has illegally monopolized debit payment networks and instituted “a web of exclusionary agreements on merchants and banks” that makes it difficult for alternative systems to compete and drive up prices for consumers. Visa, which the DOJ says processes 60 percent of all debit transactions, described the suit as meritless. This is one of several recent antitrust lawsuits the DOJ has filed against large U.S. companies. 

Unpacking the NYC Corruption Investigations 

“I don’t think there’s been a mayor in history who says how much he hates rats. I dislike rats,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said last week at the first National Urban Rat Summit. The mayor was talking about the animals, but one would be forgiven for thinking he might have been talking about snitches, considering that snowballing corruption investigations have led to a wave of resignations from his embattled administration.

With resignations and reports of new investigations a fairly regular occurrence—three top city officials have resigned in the past several weeks amid four separate federal investigations—the Adams administration has taken on the quality of a slow-moving trainwreck. The whiff of scandal is likely to forever taint the ambitious Democrat’s time in office.

Adams, elected in 2021, positioned himself as a different kind of Democrat than the progressives who had recently dominated New York City politics, as well as cities around the country. A gun-carrying former cop who could both sell himself as tough on crime and as a credible voice for police reform seemed like exactly the sort of politician who could lead urban Democrats through the post-George Floyd era. 

The mayor certainly seems to view himself as a kind of political messiah. He declared himself “the future of the Democratic Party” when elected, and enters press conferences to hip-hop beats. In response to the investigations, he has attempted to focus attention on the accomplishments of his administration. “I want to write my own story,” he said earlier this month. “And this story is how great we have done.” But the story of his administration may turn out to be quite different than what he intended.

Allegations of graft and self-dealing in the Adams administration have been bubbling up for roughly the last two years and have accelerated over the last several weeks. The number of indictments, resignations, and ominous announcements can be grouped into four main streams of investigation: improper gifts and donations connected to the Turkish government, allegations that senior aides and city hall officials accepted bribes and funneled contracts to associates, an investigation into the twin brother of the former New York Police Department (NYPD) commissioner, and a fourth federal investigation into a different Adams aide and campaign fundraiser. Whew. 

First, the Turkish connection. In November 2023, federal investigators raided the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. The search was reportedly part of an inquiry into whether individuals connected to the Turkish government had made illegal straw donations—campaign contributions made by one individual that illegally use another individual’s money—to the Adams campaign. 

Adams has a long-running relationship with Turkey, having visited the country many times in the past on trips subsidized by entities that may or may not have been linked to the Turkish government. He has even appeared in a Turkish film, playing himself in a brief cameo in the 2017 rom-com New York Masali. In the movie, two Turkish characters approach Adams asking for political favors in Turkish, which he does not understand.

But it appears that someone from Turkey may have eventually figured out how to speak Adams’ language. FBI investigators are reportedly attempting to determine whether Adams’ relationship with the country may have resulted in political favors shortly before he won the Democratic nomination for mayor in 2021: Adams reportedly pressured officials from the Fire Department of New York to overlook potential safety concerns related to the opening of the new Turkish consulate in New York.

Aside from the raid on Suggs’ home—she’s since resigned—Adams has also been subpoenaed by a grand jury and had his electronics confiscated by federal investigators in connection to the investigation into his dealings with Turkey. On Tuesday, the New York Times also reported that federal investigators issued subpoenas in July for records relating to five other countries: Israel, China, Qatar, South Korea, and Uzbekistan. Adams has said, as part of one of his rhetorical tics, that “New York is the Istanbul of America”; for Adams, the city may also be the Jerusalem, Beijing, Doha, Seoul, and Tashkent of America.

Another major investigation stems from Adams’ longtime alliances in the NYPD, where his career in city government began and where he made his name as an outspoken critic of the department and of local government. In June 2023, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell resigned in frustration, reportedly because of interference by the Adams administration in NYPD affairs. Sewell has declined to offer any public reasons for the resignation, and Adams has deflected questions about the resignation to Sewell: “Don’t put words in her mouth that she did not tell you.”

Circumventing customary NYPD seniority, Adams appointed Edward A. Caban, whose father was Adams’ longtime friend on the force, and whose brother, James, had been dismissed by the NYPD in 2001.

But earlier this month, Edward Caban resigned from the NYPD at the request of the Adams administration. His phone had been seized as part of the federal investigation into the department, apparently stemming at least in part from James Caban’s alleged extortion of a Brooklyn bar owner in 2023. A city official apparently directed the owner to Caban, suggesting he was a “consultant” who could assist with the persistent noise complaints made to the NYPD about the bar. James Caban allegedly asked for $2,500 in exchange for putting a stop to the complaints, which the bar owner refused. He closed his business shortly after.

Adams’ attempts to move past the scandal by appointing an interim commissioner in mid-September, Tom Donlon, have also been for naught. Over the weekend, Donlon said in a statement that “federal authorities” had “executed search warrants at my residences.” It’s unclear what, exactly, the warrants were related to. Donlon claimed that the feds seized “materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department.” New York City may soon be on its fourth police commissioner in two years.

There has been more than one dubious “consulting” business associated with the Adams administration in the last few years. In January, City Safe Partners gained a $154 million contract with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to provide “emergency fire watch services.” 

The problem? The firm was once owned by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks. Banks’ brother, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks, is engaged to First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who sits on the NYCHA board and voted to approve the contract. 

Earlier this month, federal authorities raided the home of Philip Banks and Wright. Philip is also being investigated for potentially steering business to a third Banks brother, Terence, who works as a consultant for companies seeking city contracts. Patch also reported on Tuesday that another security firm formerly owned by Philip Banks, Overwatch Services, had been placed on a “no-bid” list of minority-owned businesses eligible for contracts providing security at city facilities, including its rapidly growing network of migrant shelters. 

Through personal statements and those made by their lawyers, all three Banks have maintained that they’re not the target of the federal investigations. David Banks, for example, said that his lawyer had been told that he is “absolutely not a target in whatever this investigation is about,” though he announced Tuesday night that he plans to step down from his post by the end of the year. Politico also reported that Wright was confident that she had done nothing wrong. 

One official, the target of the fourth separate federal investigation, is now back in action after being placed on leave. Winnie Greco, Adams’ director of Asian affairs since 2022, saw her homes in the Bronx and a Queens mall where she held frequent fundraisers for Adams raided in February. After being put on administrative leave, Greco has been back at city hall since May. New York City’s Department of Investigation was already looking into Greco for allegedly improperly benefiting from her position—including by asking a 33-year-old campaign volunteer to perform two months of renovation work on her home in exchange for a job with the city. 

The four main investigations above don’t even encompass all of the corruption scandals swirling around Adams. Adams’ appointee for commissioner of the Department of Buildings, Eric Ulrich, was indicted by a 2023 grand jury for allegedly soliciting bribes and improper benefits relating to his various government posts. According to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Ulrich had attempted to profit from his position at “every possible turn.” And in February, a retired police inspector pleaded guilty to misdemeanor conspiracy for funneling straw donations to the Adams campaign in 2021. 

Further resignations may be coming for the Adams administration, even if they’re apparently unrelated to the investigations. On Tuesday, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, Adams’ appointee for health commissioner, announced his resignation. Vasan said he wanted to spend more time with his family. When asked if the announcement was related to the investigations, claimed he was “so far away from that world.” 

Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller and one of Adams’ chief opponents in the upcoming 2025 primary, said that the resignations were “the beginning of a mass exodus at city hall which will soon make it impossible to govern.” Adams, he said, “must fix this ship or it will sink.”

When asked during Tuesday’s press conference about how he felt about the investigations and resignations, which included the departure of his chief counsel on Saturday, Adams was defiant and deflective. “You’re going to have to wait to get my book,” he said. “There’s always something happening in life. Can you stay focused on your mission?” It remains to be seen whether he will. 

Worth Your Time

• In the Wall Street Journal, former GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin—who chaired the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party while in Congress—draws the line between the Israeli beeper attack and Chinese technology in the United States. “Look at the damage done by exploding pagers,” he wrote. “Then imagine the chaos caused by haywire power grids, or the economic consequences of frozen ports. The Biden administration recently warned that Chinese-made port cranes could be ‘controlled ..  from remote locations.’ European companies found that Chinese groups may have gained access to the systems that control cargo ships. Billions of endpoints connect to the internet, including sensors and devices that physically interact with critical infrastructure. Anyone with control over a portion of the technology stack such as semiconductors, cellular modules, or hardware devices, can use it to snoop, incapacitate or kill.”
• In the last six years, 38 states and D.C. have legalized sports gambling. Did it matter? “The rise of sports gambling has caused a wave of financial and familial misery, one that falls disproportionately on the most economically precarious households,” answered Charles Fain Lehman in The Atlantic. Studies reveal increased financial hardships associated with sports betting and even an increased likelihood of domestic violence. “Because of the studies’ design, these results reveal what sports gambling causes, not merely what it correlates with. And the numbers they reveal are of course not only numbers but human lives. Sports gambling is addictive; although many people can do just a little of it, some keep playing compulsively, well past the point of no return. This yields not only debt and bankruptcy but emotional instability and even violence. The problems don’t stop there: Gambling addiction has been connected to anxiety, depression, and even suicide. … If the states are ‘laboratories of democracy,’ then the results of their experiment with sports gambling are in, and they are uniformly negative. Better to end the study now than prolong the suffering.” 

Presented Without Comment

The Jewish Chronicle: [U.K. Prime Minister Keir] Starmer Accidentally Calls for Release of ‘Sausages’ in Labour Conference Speech 

Also Presented Without Comment

House Speaker Mike Johnson, when asked if the House would certify the results of the presidential election even if Vice President Kamala Harris wins: 

Well, of course—if we have a free, fair, and safe election, we’re going to follow the Constitution, absolutely.

In the Zeitgeist

We’re pretty sure an advanced degree is now required to keep track of the goings-on in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but we still intend to watch this installment (because of Florence Pugh, mostly), coming in 2025. 

Toeing the Company Line

• Who will be at the Dispatch Summit in November? What happened to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute? Are Israel and Hezbollah headed for full-scale war? Mike was joined by Steve, Drucker, Jeffrey Tyler Syck, Mary, and Adaam to discuss all that and more on last night’s Dispatch Live (🔒). Members who missed the conversation can catch a rerun—either video or audio-only—by clicking here. 
• In the newsletters: The Dispatch Politics crew broke down how the Electoral College map favors Trump, and Nick argues (🔒) that Volodymyr Zelensky expressing a clear preference for one party is a mistake. 
• On the podcasts: Brookings Institution senior fellow Jonathan Rauch takes over The Remnant to interview Jonah about his career and intellectual development.
• On the site: Jason Furman, who served as the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers during the Obama administration, details how Trump could undermine the independence of the Federal Reserve in a second term. Sarah previews the upcoming Supreme Court term, which starts the first Monday in October. And in his Wednesday column, Jonah debunks the notion that newly elected presidents have a “mandate.”

Let Us Know

Do you think states that have legalized sports betting should ban it once again?