Transcripts For BBCNEWS Verified Live 20240927

And abuse that privilege. The law is designed to ensure officials like him serve the people and not the highest bidder, not a foreign bidder, and certainly not a foreign power. These are bright red lines, and we allege the a cross them again and again for years. That is the only reason we are here today. Secondly, this investigation continues and we continue to dig. We will hold more people accountable. I encourage anyone with information to come forward and to do so before it is too late. Thirdly, the southern district of New York remains committed to rooting out corruption without Fear Or Favour and without Fear Or Favour and without regard to partisan politics. We are not focused on the right or the left. We are focused only on right and wrong. That is our duty, and we will fulfil it. Now, todays charges are the result of a tremendous partnership. I want to thank our partners at the fbi, the new York City department of investigation her fame where there every step of the way. Finally, i want to commend the outstanding prosecutors at ft ny, celia cohen, derek wicks trim, and the chiefs of the public to match an evening, Lauren Pomerantz and lauren silverman. I turn over the podium to Fbi Assistant director in charge. Studio so, that is Damian Williams, District Attorney for New York south, talking about Eric Adams who has been charged with a number of offences. Mr williams is saying that mr adams had a duty to inform, to publicly disclose, who was giving him what. We allege that he said he was being showered with gifts, including upgrades and freebies. Lets now listen to the Fbi Assistant in charge in New York. To the Fbi Assistant in charge in New York. Public service is a profound in New York. Public service is a profound responsibility in New York. Public service is a profound responsibility and| a profound responsibility and should be a noble calling. When thatis should be a noble calling. When that is perverted, by greed and dishonesty, it robs us of our trust. It is a pact between leaders and their communities built on the pillars of trust, accountability, and transparency. When that pact is broken, the consequences report far beyond one office or one election cycle. We know not all leaders are corrupt, we know that there are countless public servants who wake up every day with the intention of doing right by their constituents. But we cannot ignore The Shadow Cast by moments like this. When trust is eroded, it takes years, sometimes decades, to rebuild. The weight of todays action. Notjust on the indicted official, but on every other Public Official who must now work harder to earn the public� S Confidence in them. It is important to remember that Accountability Isntjust is important to remember that Accountability Isnt just about punishing those with alleged wrongdoing. It is about lifting the communities that they have let down. It is about rebuilding and restoring and reimagining what public servants can and should do. It is up to was to demand more from our leaders, to hold them to the highest standards, and to the highest standards, and to remind them that the power of public office should never be abused. While some may be disappointed today, let me encourage you not to be defeated. The strength of our communities and our faith defeated. The strength of our communities and ourfaith in one another and did our collective resilience are far greater than the alleged failings of anybody who is one individual. In closing i would like to thank the us attorney for the southern district of New York, Damian Williams and his office, Commissioner Jocelyn Straub and the new York Team as well as my team, The Public Corruption here at fdi in New York. Thank you. Fbi New York. I in New York. Thank you. Fbi New York New York. I welcome jocelyn straub. Thank New York. I welcome jocelyn straub. Thank you. New york. I welcome jocelyn straub. Thank you. Good straub. Thank you. Good morning straub. Thank you. Good morning. Today, straub. Thank you. Good morning. Today, for straub. Thank you. Good morning. Today, for the| straub. Thank you. Good morning. Today, for the first time in yorks modern history, we announce criminal charges against the sitting mayor of new York City. As our highest elected official, the mayor should set the standard for all of City Government and exemplified the Integrity And Transparency and dedication to serving the public that all New Yorkers deserve. Instead, the indictment Unsealed Today alleges that mayor adams abused his Power And Position the nearly one decade as president of Brooklyn Borough and as mayor to enrich himself and his mayoral campaigns as charged, he saw and received illegal Campaign Contributions, luxury travel, and other personal benefits from foreign nationals, as well as individuals and businesses. He allegedly took steps to conceal those illegal contributions and personal benefits and involves City Employees and Campaign Staff in that concealment. As of the indictment explains, this kind of corruption has real cost to the city and to the public. As a it, there may� s 2021 campaign falsely certified compliance with Campaign Finance laws in order to conceal those illegal Campaign Contributions and as a result of those false certifications, received over 10 Million in public matching funds. The mayors alleges Acceptance And Concealment of illegal contributions and personal benefits gave overseas benefactors, wealthy individuals, and businesses undue influence over the mayor, influence federal and local laws seek to prevent. As charged, in exchange for certain personal benefits, the mayor pressured the new York City Fire Department forgo a required Fire Safety Inspection before the opening of the new turkish consulate building. As of the Citys Inspector general, the department of Investigation City Agency conducts its investigations confidentially and wholly independently of city hall. We handled this investigation as we would any other, following the facts and seeking to hold wrongdoers accountable no matter their role or title. Our unique access to records and expertise in matters of City Government make us a critical partner in the fight to root out corruption, working closely with our Law Enforcement colleagues of the fbi and the us Attorneys Office. If you have information about this case, or about illegal conduct by any new York City official or employee, i encourage you to contact doi by E Mail at the E Mail address or on 2128252128, that is the phone number. I think the Attorneys Office for the southern district of New York, and the fbi for their partnership on this investigation. I want to recognise and thank the dedicated and hard working Doi Investigators who are handling this matter. Senior Inspector General eleanor rifkin, Inspector General Audrey Feldman feldman, Deputy Inspector general arturo sanchez. And their supervisors, deputy commissioners. Thank you. Thank you, everyone. He commissioners. Thank you. Thank you. Everyone you, everyone. He saw the us attorney for you, everyone. He saw the us attorney for the you, everyone. He saw the us attorney for the Southern Attorney for the southern district of New York, a spokesman for the fbi as well as the doi, the department of Investigations Commissioner talking about these charges brought against the new York City mayor, Eric Adams. These are pictures from a search of his official residence earlier today. The charges include that he sought and accepted illegal contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, he also faces a charge of wire fraud, two charges of solicitation of contribution by a foreign national, and a charge of bribery. Derek adams, who is the first New York mayor to face criminal charges while in office, denies the charges and says that he is looking forward to defending himself. You had the us attorney there so that he was supposed to publicly disclose gifts, instead, we allege he is being showered with them. You are watching Bbc News. You can get live updates on that story on the Bbc News website and app. Hello there. Good afternoon. Well, it will turn colder and drier into the weekend, but in the meantime, plenty more Heavy Rain to come in the forecast. And there are still a number of Flood Warnings in force, too, mostly across central england, where weve seen the recent flooding. And, of course, the ground is saturated. More Rain Piling into northeastern areas of england on a brisk easterly wind stretching right across to Northern Ireland, to the north across scotland, largely dry away from the Far North, some brighter skies. But for england and wales, heavy, thundery showers. They could be slow Moving And Merge at times. Temperatures milder in the south, much cooler across scotland. Were seeing a developing northerly wind. But this is the area of most concern tonight. This Amber Warning issued for a full 12 hours from 6 00 tonight until 6 00 on Friday Morning and within the Amber Weather Warning area we could see 30 to 40mm of rain within three hours, double that within a six hour period. It will lead to some more flooding. That all sinks its way further southwards as we head through tonight. A cold northerly wind developing, chillier feeling air, temperatures dropping back into single figures for many, and even out towards the south and the east, welljust see 10 or 11 degrees, but therell be some Cloud And Rain here into tomorrow morning. This is the picture on friday, you can see that northerly wind start to develop and of course drier Feeling Conditions as well, with a few showers and some brightness, but still wet and cloudy to start the day across east anglia, southeast england. That all clears away by the time we get to lunchtime for most of us, and there will be some sunshine developing as well. Sunshine elsewhere, too, and a few showers, particularly for coastal areas and towards the Far North of scotland. Its feeling colder, 9 13c, and its more of the same as we head through the weekend. Look at this high pressure starts to build in on Friday Night from the southeast. That means lighter winds, so there could be a touch of frost, particularly for northern england, scotland, Northern Ireland and as we head into saturday morning, a localised frost further south. A drier looking day on saturday. There will be some brightness around, still some cloud and a few showers out towards the far North And West across Irish Sea coasts, and these temperatures probably no higher than 11 15c. So a different feel to things as we head into the weekend. Sunday looking cloudier, still some brighter spells at times. Unsettled, wet and windy for many on sunday night. Live from beirut. This is Bbc News, im anna foster. Israels Prime Minister tells the military to keep fighting lebanons his brother with full force despite calls from World Leaders for a 21 day ceasefire. Hezbollah. Theres been a large explosion in the southern suburbs of beirut , as the israeli military says it was carrying out what it called precise strikes in the lebanese capital. Ill have all the latest from our correspondents in the region and at the united nations. Also in the headlines. President Zelenskiy Thanks President Biden and the us police in london say they are investigating a number of new allegations made against the late Harrods Owner who has been accused of rape and sexual assault. Us prosecutors charge the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, with five counts of criminal offences including bribery and receiving Campaign Contributions from foreigners. They were hoping that Israel And Lebanon could agreed to