Prosecutors say they may bring additional charges against New York City mayor and indict others

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that they might bring additional charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and indict others in the corruption case against him.

Prosecutors made the disclosure during a hearing for Adams days after he was was indicted on charges that he accepted about $100,000 worth of free or deeply discounted flights, hotel stays, meals and entertainment on international trips that he mostly took before he was elected mayor, when he was serving as Brooklyn’s borough president.

Prosecutors say the travel perks were arranged by a senior Turkish diplomatic official in New York and Turkish businesspeople who wanted to gain influence with Adams. The indictment alleges that Adams also conspired to receive illegal donations to his political campaigns from foreign sources who weren’t allowed to give money to U.S. political candidates.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten told Judge Dale Ho that it is “quite likely” prosecutors will seek a superseding indictment and that it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged and “possible” that more charges will be brought against Adams.

The hearing was the first time Adams, a Democrat, appeared in court since his arraignment on Friday.

“Busy. Busy. Busy city. Running the city. Making sure we continue to move forward,” Adams said as he stepped out of a black SUV, put on his jacket and walked up the courthouse steps.

Wednesday's hearing wasn't expected to involve a deep exploration of the evidence.

The judge could also set a preliminary timetable for the trial and Adams’ lawyers may raise some of the complaints they’ve been airing in court filings and media appearances about the charges and investigation.

The indictment alleges that Adams reciprocated the gifts he received from the Turkish official and businesspeople in 2021 by helping Turkey open a new diplomatic facility in the city despite concerns that had been raised by the Fire Department about whether the building could pass all of its required fire safety inspections.

Adams has denied knowingly accepting any illegal campaign contributions. He also said there was nothing improper about the trips he took abroad or the perks he received, and that any help he gave to Turkish officials regarding the diplomatic building was just routine “constituent services.” He has said helping people navigate the city's bureaucracy was part of his job.

Adams is seeking to dismiss part of the case. His lawyers filed court papers Monday asking to throw out the bribery charge against him. They contend that Adams' flights, upgrades, meals and hotel rooms were not bribes under federal law.

A spokesperson for Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oncu Keceli, said in a statement that the country's missions in the U.S. and elsewhere operate according to international diplomatic rules and that "Our meddling in another country’s internal affairs is out of the question.”

The judge appointed to oversee Adams' trial, Dale Ho, could also on Monday potentially deal with a request by the mayor's lawyer to open an investigation into whether prosecutors with the U.S. attorney's office improperly leaked information to reporters about the investigation.

The court filing didn't cite any evidence that prosecutors broke grand jury rules, but it cited a string of news reports by The New York Times about instances where the investigation had burst into public view, like when FBI agents searched the home of one of Adams' chief fundraisers and when they stopped the mayor as he left a public event last November and seized his electronic devices.

It was unclear whether the court would schedule a trial in advance of New York's June mayoral primary, where Adams is likely to face several challengers.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, second from right, arrives to court in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, second from right, arrives to court in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Alex Spiro, attorney for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, arrives at the federal courthouse in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Eric Adams, right, walks into the federal courthouse n New York, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, second from right, arrives to court in New York, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks while surrounded by faith leaders and other supporters during a rally and prayer vigil on the steps of City Hall in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Wednesday offered to delay by a year or more the introduction of new rules that would outlaw the sale of products that degrade forests following an outcry from several governments claiming that it will damage trade and hurt small farmers.

The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, said it would delay the rules scheduled to start at the end of this year until Dec. 30, 2025 for large companies and until June 30, 2026 for small companies, if the 27 member countries and the bloc’s parliament agree.

The “deforestation regulation” is aimed at preserving forests by only allowing forest-related products that are sustainable and do not involve the degradation of forests. It applies to things like cocoa, coffee, soy, cattle, palm oil, rubber, wood and products made from them.

Critics say it discriminates against countries with forest resources and would hurt their exports, while supporters insist that it will help save forests on a global scale. Deforestation is the second-biggest source of carbon emissions after fossil fuels.

In offering to delay the regulation by a year, the commission said that “several global partners have repeatedly expressed concerns about their state of preparedness" for the rules, most recently during the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Officials from leading exporters of affected commodities — including Brazil, Indonesia and the Ivory Coast — fear the regulation could act as a trade barrier, hit small farmers and disrupt supply chains.

But even EU governments, including in Austria and Germany, have also sought to water the regulation down or delay its introduction.

The commission conceded that “the state of preparations amongst stakeholders in Europe is also uneven. While many expect to be ready in time, thanks to intensive preparations, others have expressed concerns.”

In addition to offering a delay, it published additional guidance to better clarify the rules for companies and to help national authorities enforce them. The commission encouraged EU member countries and the parliament to endorse the delay by the end of this year.

Greenpeace said that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has condemned the world’s forests to another year of destruction by proposing the delay. It noted a U.N. finding that an area of forest about the size of Portugal - 10 million hectares - is cut down worldwide each year.

“Ursula von der Leyen might as well have wielded the chainsaw herself. People in Europe don’t want deforestation products on their supermarket shelves but that’s what this delay will give them, for another 12 months,” Greenpeace’s EU forest policy director Sébastien Risso said.

FILE - European Union flags wave in the wind as pedestrians walk by EU headquarters in Brussels, Sept. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)