NYC Mayor Adams defends against report of Turkish Airlines upgrades, but demures on specific details

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams defended himself Tuesday when questioned about a report that the federal probe into ties between Turkey and his 2021 mayoral campaign has honed in on upgrades he allegedly received on Turkish Airlines flights, but declined to offer more specific details on issues raised by the story.

Last week, The New York Times reported that federal investigators are now focusing on first-class seating assignments they believe may have put Adams into luxurious accommodations on the international flights, seats that typically went for about $3,400 a pop.

Adams publicly responded for the first time Tuesday.

“I’ve said this over and over and over again: I follow laws,” the mayor said during a City Hall press conference. “I have great attorneys. My job is to run the city. They are to run the review.”

Adams’ campaign is the subject of a federal investigation into whether it illegally accepted foreign money from the Turkish government. That probe became public on Nov. 2 last year when the FBI executed at least three raids. Days later, the feds seized Adams electronic devices. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

In a new development late last week, the Times’ story detailed that the FBI and federal prosecutors compiled evidence showing former Turkish Airlines executive Cenk Öcal and Adams’ adviser Rana Abbasova arranged some of the upgrades for the mayor, and that Adams attended meetings with reps from Turkish Airlines, Turkish businessmen and diplomats.

Brendan McGuire, one of the six lawyers handling the Turkey probe for Adams, told the Times that when Adams served as Brooklyn borough president, he “consistently disclosed his official travel to Turkey, did not receive any improper upgrades and did nothing inappropriate in exchange for an upgrade.”

“Speculation is not evidence,” he continued. “We look forward to a just and timely conclusion to this investigation.”

Asked Tuesday for a more detailed accounting, Adams declined to say if at any point he sought guidance from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board in matters related to flight upgrades. When asked about meetings with Turkish Airlines reps and the nature of his relationships with Öcal and Abbasova — both of whom were raided by the feds in Nov. 2 as part of their probe — Adams also declined to offer specifics.

He added, jokingly, that reporters could read about it in the autobiography he’s planning to write.

“My attorneys are doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” he said. “Throughout my entire career, there have been things that have been thrown at me. You know, there have been accusations, and it still comes out that the guy follows the rules. I sleep well at night with my little teddy bear because I follow the rules.”

In response to a Daily News story on Adams legal defense fund that reported two of the lawyers representing him began work the same day as the Nov. 2 raids, Adams declined to elaborate.

The mayor said he had received no advance warning of the raids.

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