Transcript: Part 1: Mayor Adams Appears on WNBC’s “News 4 NY at 5”

July 9, 2025

Adam Kuperstein: For the first time, Mayor Adams is sitting down on camera to take direct questions about the federal criminal charges that he faced, the charges that were later dropped by the Trump administration. And it's happening amid a lot of controversy.

And Mayor Adams, maintaining he never broke the law, our chief investigative reporter Jonathan Dienst talked to the mayor as he tries to put that dismissed indictment behind him and push ahead for re-election.

Mayor Eric Adams: There was no cash, there were no gold bars, there was no hidden account somewhere.

Jonathan Dienst: Did you accept tens of thousands in upgrades on airfare, hotels, vacations? Were they gifts? And in hindsight, was it wrong for you to have accepted that?

Mayor Adams: When I flew Turkish Airlines, and other airlines, since I was a kid, when I walked into a plane, I asked for upgrades. What many New Yorkers and Americans do, you ask them for more leg room and premium class. At no time did I feel that action was breaking the law.

Dienst: In terms of the gifts, that you did not disclose them as you were required to.

Mayor Adams: We file a conflict of interest board ruling. We filed that each year. Oftentimes we have to go back and amend those rulings. Oftentimes we realize we missed something. And so if one wants to say, “Eric, you didn't file your document correctly,” then I will admit to that. You get fined for doing that. You don't go to jail for 33 years for doing that.

Dienst: But in terms of them as gifts, you don't deny accepting them? The free hotels, the free travel.

Mayor Adams: It wasn't free flights. I paid for my flights. I want to be clear on that. I paid for my flight. Yes, I did ask for more leg room on flights. And I paid for my hotel stay at the St. Regis. When I went to the desk, I was very clear. I want to pay for my hotel room. I have to pay for my hotel room. And that's exactly what I did.

Dienst: Prosecutors say booking that suite was $7,000 for two nights. And Adams had paid $600. They say that those payments that you did make were just a cover up or a cover story versus a legitimate purchase of a word.

Mayor Adams: They allege a lot of things. They cherry pick things that would fit their narrative. If you do an analysis of all that evidence, you're going to see that Eric Adams never took money from people. Eric Adams never instructed anyone to break the law. In fact, you saw just the opposite. You saw Eric Adams say, follow the rules.

Dienst: Mayor Adams agreed to meet with us in Harlem at a smoothie shop along 125th Street. He agreed to answer any questions we had about the now dismissed bribery indictment. Adams says a past call he made to the FDNY to try to help Turkey get a permit to occupy its new East Side Consulate building, despite ongoing safety violations, was not part of any criminal bribe scheme.

Mayor Adams: I was charged with calling the Fire Department commissioner and asking him to do a building inspection. I didn't tell him to pass it. I said, can you do a building inspection? And Jonathan, when you look at my text message, it said, “If you can't, let me know and I'll manage their expectations.”

I thought those charges were lawfare. President Biden said his Justice Department was politicized when he pardoned his son. The president, Trump, said it was politicized. Something happened in our Justice Department under the Biden administration that was wrong.

Dienst: Adams was also charged with leading a campaign finance scheme. The indictment outlined how Adams had allegedly orchestrated a plot to funnel foreign money into his campaign through so-called straw donors.

They say that you knew exactly who they are and what they were doing on numerous occasions.

Mayor Adams: There was no evidence in there that stated Eric told someone to do anything improper. Instead, there was evidence of me saying, don't do anything improper.

Dienst: There are critics who will say Governor Cuomo just lost an election because he never acknowledged any of the shortcomings and mistakes he made. Are you making a similar mistake right now?

Mayor Adams: Just the opposite. After the indictment was dismissed, I stood in front of New Yorkers. I apologized. I said, I'm sorry, I didn't break the law, but I'm sorry for what I put the city through. I also talked about— there were some hires that I made that I should not have hired.

Dienst: In our interview, the mayor declined to discuss any specific appointee who resigned or any ongoing investigations involving questions of corruption, surrounding City Hall.

Mayor Adams: I think I have a good judge of character and to pinpoint who disappointed me and didn't disappoint me, that's not serving any purpose. And those investigations should come to their completion before we prematurely make any comments or statements.

Dienst: As for his case, Adams says how the criminal charges were dropped was not improper and that he's not beholden to President Trump.

Mayor Adams: Jonathan, people say that the president is holding something over my head. We took more legal action on policies of this administration more than any mayor in the country. When we disagree, we're gonna use the systems that resolve disagreements. When we agree, I'm gonna commend him for that action because it's helping the city.

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