Eric Adams is appearing in court for the first time in a criminal case

• Eric Adams appears in court for the first time in his criminal case on Friday.
• He is scheduled to enter a plea to the federal bribery charge against him.
• Prosecutors say Adams took bribes from Turkey in the form of luxury travel perks.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrived in federal court in Manhattan on Friday morning, where he is expected to enter a plea in his bribery case.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York accused Adams of participating in a years-long scheme in which he took bribes from the Turkish government, including luxury travel perks.

Instead, prosecutors said, Adams pushed city officials to approve plans for Turkey House, a 36-story tower near the United Nations that houses the Turkish consulate and other diplomatic functions.

Adams has denied wrongdoing. He is expected to formally enter a plea during a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katherine Parker at noon.

The hearing is scheduled to take place in a courtroom on the courthouse’s 26th floor, the same room where Sean “Diddy” Combs — to whom Adams gave the “key to the city” — was arraigned on his own set of charges criminal. last week.

Adams is represented in his criminal case by Alex Spiro, Elon Musk’s lawyer. Spiro recently won an acquittal for Alec Baldwin in a criminal case for filming on the set of “Rust.”

Since the indictment, the number of Democrats calling for Adams’ resignation has grown.

If the mayor pleads not guilty in the case, his trial is to be overseen by U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, a nominee of President Joe Biden and a former top election lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union.

Ho took over the bench a year ago, and the indictment against Adams would be his first major case as a judge.