NYC mayor's top advisor denies corruption allegations after abruptly resigning
NEW YORK -- Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who abruptly resigned as top advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is pushing back against corruption allegations against her.
It comes as Manhattan prosecutors investigating corruption charges have presented evidence to a grand jury, and could be seeking an indictment as soon as this week.
"I'm being falsely accused of something"
One of Adams' longest-serving aides, Lewis-Martin and her attorney defended her tenure as a public servant, which came to an end Sunday when she stepped down a month before she planned to retire.
She confirmed she is the target of a grand jury investigation.
"I'm being falsely accused of something. I don't know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it's something that's illegal, and I have never done anything illegal in my capacity in government," Lewis-Martin said during a Monday press conference.
Federal agents subpoenaed Lewis-Martin and seized her phone after she returned from a trip to Japan on Sept. 27, the same day Adams pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges. Investigators also searched her home in Brooklyn.
In October, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said it was investigating Lewis-Martin and four others. The case reportedly involved the city's leasing of commercial properties.
It was not immediately clear what evidence prosecutors are allegedly presenting to the grand jury.
Mayor's former top advisor cooperating with investigators, attorney says
Lewis-Martin's attorney said they are cooperating with investigators, but he expressed concern over what he called "inappropriate leaks."
"In the state senate's office, in the borough president's office, and in City Hall, she never did anything more than her job, for anything more than her salary," Lewis-Martin's attorney said.
President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he would consider a pardon for Adams. The New York Campaign Finance Board also denied matching funds for Adams' reelection bid.
