New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke outside his official residence, Gracie Mansion, after he was indicted Thursday on federal charges.
Watch the remarks in the player above.
Adams, a former captain in the New York City police department, faces conspiracy, wire fraud and bribery charges in a five-count indictment that describes a decade-long trail of crimes.
Despite the corruption case, Adams said he does not plan to resign from his job running the country's largest city, telling reporters he hopes New Yorkers will wait to hear his legal team's defense before making any judgments.
READ MORE: Read the full indictment against New York Mayor Eric Adams
"From here, my attorneys will take care of the case so I can take care of the city," he said at a hastily assembled news conference after the charges were made public. "It's an unfortunate day. And its a painful day. But inside all of that is a day when we will finally reveal why, for 10 months, I've gone through this. And I look forward to defending myself," he said.
The U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan alleges in the indictment that Adams "not only accepted, but sought illegal campaign contributions" to his mayoral campaign. A senior official in the Turkish diplomatic establishment "facilitated many straw donations" to Adams and arranged for Adams and his companions to receive free or discounted travel on Turkey's national airline to destinations including France, China, Sri Lanka, India, Hungary, and Turkey, the indictment alleges.