Eric Adams indictment: How campaign finance violations often grow into dramatic scandals

Mayor Eric Adams at a news conference following his indictment by federal prosecutors on Sept. 26, 2024.& AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura by Charlie Hunt, Boise State University and Jaclyn Kettler, Boise State University& New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with bribery and fraud following a spiraling federal investigation into his administration. Among other accusations, federal prosecutors alleged in their September 2024 indictment that Adams received campaign donations from the Turkish government for his 2021 mayoral race and sought to conceal these illegal foreign contributions. Adams is New York’s first mayor to be charged with a crime, but he is hardly the only politician to run afoul of rules that govern how political campaigns can raise and spend funds in U.S. elections. And as we document in our new podcast, “Scandalized,” discovering campaign finance violations is often just the first chapter in a much wilder story. Why campaign finance law matters The U.S. has federal rules that govern how political campaigns can raise and spend money in U.S. elections. For example, they limit how much money individuals and groups can contribute to candidates’ campaigns. Federal rules also restrict how campaign funds may be used and require the disclosure of...