Next time you hear about a proposal to spend public money on political campaigns, picture Eric Adams in the Bentley Suite of the St. Regis Hotel in Istanbul.
It’s hard to say exactly which is the wildest part of the Eric Adams indictment for taking bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkey. (Props to the always-reliable New York Post for headlining the story “GRAND THEFT OTTOMAN.”) Andy has flagged Adams texting “first stop is always instanbul” [sic] even when flying to Ghana or Easter Island and engaging in comically inept and brazen efforts to destroy and conceal evidence when caught.
A few other candidates:
My personal favorite, however, is that Adams — a former New York City cop who was on the force in 2001, lest we forget — spending September 10, 2021 hectoring the fire commissioner to approve a Turkish skyscraper with multiple fire-code violations and demanding that if it wasn’t resolved, he needed a half-hour to talk to the commissioner when they attended the 20th anniversary September 11 memorial service.
The principal crimes charged against Adams are what Bill Barr would call “meat and potatoes” crimes, not requiring any creative interpretation of the law or the facts, at least if the facts are proven as alleged. Taking bribes (in the form of lavishly comped airline flights and hotel rooms at far below-market prices) in exchange for official favors is a well-known, conventional crime. Taking and misreporting illegal campaign contributions from foreigners, many of them passed through straw purchasers, is not just a straightforward statutory crime but one that was plainly structured to evade the law.
What deserves further comment is the charge that Adams defrauded New York City’s system for the public financing of campaigns. Basically, the city seeks to encourage campaigns that accumulate small-dollar donors by creating a matching fund of taxpayer money for donations up to $250 from New York City residents. The New York City Campaign Finance Board explains the theory:
Matching funds provide candidates with a strong incentive to finance their campaigns by engaging with average New Yorkers instead of seeking large contributions from special interests. The Program empowers more candidates to run for office, even without access to wealth; ones who join can build viable, competitive campaigns for office by relying on support from their neighbors. The voluntary public financing program matches small-dollar contributions from individuals who reside in New York City, helping to amplify the voices of New Yorkers in city elections. A $10 contribution from a NYC resident to a participating candidate in the 2021 election could be worth as much as $90 to their campaign.
That sounds nice and reform-y, doesn’t it? Lo and behold, when you create a big pot of taxpayer money, you also create a big incentive for people (especially politicians) to get their grubby hands on that money by doing the exact opposite of the nominal intended purpose of the program. So it is here: Adams raised money from Turkish businessmen who funneled it to him through straw donors. The indictment charges this as wire fraud against the city:
ADAMS’s campaigns applied for matching funds based on known straw donations, fraudulently obtaining as much as $2,000 in public funds for each illegal contribution. ADAMS and those working at his direction falsely certified compliance with applicable campaign finance regulations despite ADAMS’s repeated acceptance of straw donations, relying on the concealed nature of these illegal contributions to falsely portray his campaigns as law-abiding. As a result of those false certifications, ADAMS’s 2021 mayoral campaign received more than $10,000,000 in public funds.
Ten million dollars. Of New York City taxpayer money. Stolen by the mayor. Next time you hear about a proposal to spend public money on political campaigns, picture Eric Adams in the Bentley Suite of the St. Regis Hotel in Istanbul.