New York's current mayor is cutting a key lifeline for the city's former one. Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration has asked a court to let it withdraw city-funded lawyers for ex-Mayor Eric Adams in a sexual assault lawsuit, citing what Corporation Counsel Steve Banks called "new evidence" that means Adams is no longer entitled to taxpayer-backed defense, Politico reports. Adams is accused of assaulting former transit police colleague Lorna Beach-Mathura in his car in 1993, when they both worked for the New York City Transit Police and he was a leading figure in the NYPD Guardians Association. He has denied the allegation and has said he did not know the plaintiff.
Beach-Mathura filed the lawsuit in 2024. She alleges that Adams drove her to a vacant lot and sexually assaulted her after she asked him for help seeking a promotion, per NY1. City lawyers had originally agreed to represent Adams on the grounds the claim was tied to his city employment, a stance taken under Adams' own administration. The reversal raises financial pressure on the one-term mayor, who ended his reelection bid after a separate federal bribery case shook his inner circle. The Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors to drop the case weeks after President Trump returned to office last year.
Adams' legal defense trust reports about $6.2 million in expenses and $1.8 million raised. Adams "has been proven innocent before and remains confident that the facts will ultimately prevail," spokesman Todd Shapiro said, per Fox 5. "We do not comment on pending litigation. What we can say is that throughout his time in office, Mayor Adams conducted himself with professionalism and a deep commitment to the people of New York City." Mamdani's team has recently also moved to stop representing two former Adams allies in unrelated civil suits.
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