A longtime criminal defense attorney provided insights into Mayor Eric Adams’ defense strategy Wednesday, just hours before the mayor was scheduled to be in court for the first time since he was arraigned on federal corruption charges.
As Adams prepared for a pretrial conference at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, attorney Ron Kuby said in a “Mornings On 1” interview that he believes the prosecution has yet to reveal all allegations.
“The government almost certainly is going to issue additional indictments,” Kuby said.
This week, Adams’ legal team has been active, filing motions to dismiss the bribery portion of the case and requesting judicial intervention to prevent grand jury information from leaking to the media.
Adams' lead trial attorney Alex Spiro also publicly downplayed the allegations against the mayor, particularly concerning undisclosed flight upgrades, something Kuby called “low-hanging fruit.”
“[Spiro is] addressing the weakest part of the government's case. And let's face it, it's been very difficult to convict people of this type of pay-for-play because you have to prove, according to the Supreme Court, an actual quid pro quo,” Kuby said.
Kuby said that more significant issues in the case have yet to be publicly addressed by Adams or his attorneys.
“The biggest part of the case is the funneling of Turkish government money and other foreign money into the Adams campaign to be eligible for New York City matching funds. And if you'll notice, Alex Spiro does not address that at all. He addresses the low-hanging fruit,” he said.