2 weeks ago
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A top aide for New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has resigned in the wake of the mayor’s indictment.
Timothy Pearson on Monday put in his resignation following the seizing of cellphones and documents rom his home weeks prior by federal agents, according to his attorney Hugh H. Mo, The Associated Press reported.
“Pearson has decided to resign so the Mayor could restructure his team. Pearson denies any wrongdoings,” Mo said in an email to The Hill.
He also accused the media of reporting "false and defamatory allegations not supported by facts in pending civil suits and rumors of corruption in migrant services contracts before any charges have been filed.”
Pearson is an ex-police inspector and was in the police department with Adams, according to the AP. Parts of his role involved the supervision of contracts and migrant shelter security.
Adams is facing federal corruption charges, per an indictment unsealed last week. Prosecutors have said that beginning in 2014, the mayor sought and accepted “improper valuable benefits” including luxury international travel from wealthy foreign businesspeople.
On Friday, Adams pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. He said at a press conference on Thursday that he saw the indictment coming and made a pledge to fight back.
“I ask to wait and hear our side to this narrative. From here, my attorneys will take care of the case, so I can take care of the city,” Adams said. “My day to day will not change. I will continue to do the job for 8.3 million New Yorkers that I was elected to do.”
Adams’s lawyers requested that a federal judge Monday toss out an “extraordinarily vague” bribery charge he faces.
“The indictment in this case alleges a ‘bribery’ scheme that does not meet the definition of bribery and indeed does not amount to a federal crime at all,” Adams attorney Alex Spiro wrote in a 25-page filing.
Adams said in an emailed statement to The Hill that Pearson “has had a long career in both the public and private sectors, where he has spent over 30 years keeping New Yorkers safe.”
“We appreciate Tim’s decades of service to this city and wish him well,” Adams added.
The Associated Press contributed.
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