A federal judge on Tuesday denied two motions by Mayor Eric Adams in his ongoing federal corruption case.

What You Need To Know

  • A federal judge on Tuesday denied two motions by Mayor Eric Adams in his ongoing federal corruption case 

  • Judge Dale Ho denied Adams' motion to dismiss a count of bribery in the case and also denied his bid to get the trial to start three weeks earlier 

  • Adams will go to trial on April 21 and face four additional counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and accepting illegal donations

On Tuesday, Judge Dale Ho, in two back-to-back orders, denied Adams’ bid to get the bribery charge in his federal case dismissed and denied his motion to have an earlier court date in April. 

Prosecutors, in the case, allege that the mayor took luxury travel and hotel stays in exchange for favors for the Turkish government, that also included helping open a Turkish Consulate in Manhattan despite safety concerns.

Adams' lawyers had argued for months that the count was vague and insufficient to prove an explicit quid pro quo relationship, or this for that relationship.

“This case isn’t even a real case. This is the airline corruption case,” Alex Spiro, Adams' attorney, said in late September.  

But the judge disagreed. Ho cited Adams' help with the “regulation” of the Turkish Consulate and in securing a Certificate of Occupancy for the building as sufficient to show bribery. 

NY1 reached out to Spiro for a comment. 

The orders set up Adams for an April 21 trial date. The mayor is facing four other counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and accepting illegal donations. 

The decisions came as Adams was in Albany for part of the day Tuesday. 

Adams was in the state Capitol to cast his electoral vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and to meet with state leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul. 

“There's a bit of melancholy in knowing that you’re casting a vote for someone that you believe and still believe is the better person to be president. It's a mixture of pride and sadness.," Jay Jacobs, New York state Democratic Party chair, said about the vote.

Jacobs said the party will focus on working class New Yorkers in the future. 

“I think things are going to have to get better in the state of New York because I look at the last election and I look at how many votes Trump got," he continued.

Adams met with Hochul on Tuesday for an hour and talked about legislative priorities for the upcoming year.