Mayor Eric Adams, who took office nearly three years ago pledging to tackle crime and punish wrongdoers across the five boroughs, defiantly vowed on Thursday to fight charges that he’s been compromised by bribes from Turkish officials.

In an indictment unsealed on Thursday morning, federal prosecutors accused Adams of soliciting illegal campaign contributions multiplied by a taxpayer-funded matching program and accepting lavish gifts, like free air travel around the globe and free or discounted luxury hotel stays from Turkish nationals. In return, Adams allegedly paid favors to those officials, including fast-tracking building projects, and attempted to hide the evidence.

“Everyone who knows me knows I follow campaign rules and I follow the law,” Adams said at a press conference outside Gracie Mansion. He added that the charges would not affect his ability to lead a city of nearly 9 million.

He asked New Yorkers to keep an open mind as hecklers berated him and drowned out some of his remarks. Although several of the mayor’s closest aides were missing from the podium, he was joined by allies including the Rev. Herbert Daughtry, a prominent figure in Brooklyn who encouraged Adams to join the police force in 1984.

“It’s one more battle. One more fight. We will be there with you,” said Daughtry, 93.

The host of bribery, wire fraud and illegal campaign finance charges prosecutors unveiled Thursday cap an investigation into Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign that first emerged 10 months ago. But the indictment represents only one of four federal investigations into Adams’ orbit and city government.

Federal authorities are investigating the former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban in connection with a nightlife consulting business run by Caban’s twin brother, James. Another bribery investigation reportedly centers on a government relations firm run by Terence Banks, the younger brother of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and outgoing Schools Chancellor David Banks. Terence Banks claimed to represent companies with business before the city.

Separately, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are investigating suspected influence-peddling by Winnie Greco, another top Adams aide and liaison to the Chinese community.

Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the Turkish nationals banked on Adams’ rise in government so they could cash in later.

“This was a multiyear scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise: Eric Adams,” Williams said.

The indictment alleged Turkish nationals with ties to that country’s government lavished Adams with luxury perks beginning in 2014, when he was Brooklyn’s borough president.

Once Adams became the presumptive mayor in 2021, Turkish officials started calling in favors, like expediting the opening of a consulate building ahead of a visit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the indictment. Adams readily accepted the goodies and attempted to conceal any evidence that might implicate him in the illegal scheme, prosecutors said. Prosecutors put the value of the free perks, which they say Adams did not disclose as required by law, at more than $100,000.

The indictment describes how Adams deleted text messages from “co-conspirators” and changed his phone password shortly before FBI agents seized his devices last November. He allegedly told the agents he couldn’t remember the new code to unlock the phone, the charging document states.

At the press conference, Adams rejected the allegations and claimed the federal government had launched an out-of-court smear campaign against him. Hecklers compared his defense to former President Donald Trump’s claims of a “weaponized” federal government.

In a video released on Wednesday night, Adams framed the investigation as a political witch hunt sparked by his criticism of the federal government’s response to the city’s migrant crisis.

“I always knew that if I stood my ground for all of you, I would become a target. And a target I became,” he said. “Despite our pleas, when the federal government did nothing as its broken immigration policies overloaded our shelter system with no relief, I put the people of New York before party and politics.”

The revelations fueled calls for Adams’ resignation from officials across the political spectrum, representing a stunning fall from grace for a mayor who characterized himself as the “face of the new Democratic Party” after winning the June 2021 primary. Prominent Democrats and political observers echoed that view, hailing Adams as a moderate working-class leader.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leftist Democrat, urged him to step down on Wednesday, hours before news of the indictment broke. On Thursday morning, moderates and conservatives like Queens Democratic Councilmember Bob Holden echoed her message.

Three of Adams’ challengers in next year’s Democratic primary — Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and former Comptroller Scott Stringer — have all demanded Adams’ resignation. State Sen. Jessica Ramos, a fourth challenger, stopped short of calling for him to step down.

Some of Adams’ allies in business and government have taken a wait-and-see approach.

Kathy Wylde, the head of the Partnership for New York City, a group that represents business interests, said she wanted to give the mayor time to present a “substantive response” to the charges.

A spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said that she was “monitoring the situation” late Wednesday.

The first hints of the investigation’s breadth emerged last November, when federal agents raided the Brooklyn home of Adams’ top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and a handful of businesspeople with links to the Turkish government, including a Turkish Airlines executive and a Brooklyn-based construction company. Both were referenced throughout the indictment.

Investigators also targeted City Hall aide Rana Abbasova, who served as Adams’ Turkish community liaison when he was Brooklyn borough president and mayor. Adams visited Turkey on at least six occasions dating back to his tenure as a state senator representing a section of central Brooklyn.

Adams, a former NYPD officer, took office with pledges to get tough on crime amid a post-pandemic spike in felony offenses by reinstating a controversial police unit tasked with cracking down on low-level street crimes and deploying additional cops into the subway. At the same time, he prioritized quality of life issues, like driving homeless New Yorkers off the streets and out of the transit system.

The self-described “nightlife mayor” has also presented himself as the Big Apple’s biggest booster. He’s frequented Bronx bars, downtown members-only clubs and VIP parties with celebrities and influencers, and has touted his ability to keep “grinding” after a night on the town.

“People are afraid to go back out to restaurants; now they see our mayor going out saying ‘come back out to our city,” he told CNN in 2022. “It’s a 24-hour city.”

Williams, the U.S. attorney who’s prosecuting Adams, has a record of prosecuting high-profile public corruption cases.

He recently secured a bribery conviction against New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who was also accused of helping a foreign government in exchange for bribes. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Williams prosecuted former state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s second trial, which ended with a guilty verdict.

Williams’ office is also prosecuting former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin on bribery charges.

Samantha Max contributed reporting.