As Eric Adams’s Problems Mount, His Legal Defense Fund Is Empty
The New York Times
Mayor Eric Adams has spent nearly all of the $1.8 million in donations to his legal defense fund, and the pace of contributions has nearly stopped.
Mayor Eric Adams has a lot to worry about these days, from the five-count federal indictment against him to his dimming re-election prospects next year.
Now another pressing concern has emerged: His legal defense fund is empty.
Over the last year, Mr. Adams has spent nearly all of the roughly $1.8 million he has raised to pay for legal expenses related to a federal investigation into his campaign fund-raising, according to a new filing submitted late Tuesday.
And the pace of the donations has slowed. The mayor has received only one donation since his indictment on Sept. 26 on federal charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations. The donation, for $1,000, was from Deborah Robins, who lives in Miami Beach, and who did not respond to a request for comment.
The defense fund has raised roughly $92,000 since July — less than in other recent periods, according to a quarterly filing with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. The fund was created in November 2023, when the federal investigation burst into public view and federal agents seized the mayor’s phones.
Recent donors include James Dolan, who oversees a family empire that includes Madison Square Garden and the Knicks. Mr. Dolan donated $5,000 to the defense fund, as did several of his family members. Daniel Loeb, a prominent hedge fund manager, and his wife, Margaret, donated $10,000.
