March 18, 2026
“Of course, Mayor Mamdani has full faith and confidence in the Corporation Counsel’s independent judgment and in his ability to reach the appropriate and just legal conclusions.”
Former New York City Mayor Eric Adams is set to lose city-funded legal support in his sexual assault case involving a former colleague.
On March 17, Mamdani’s administration announced plans to withdraw city-funded legal representation for Adams, who faces allegations of sexually assaulting a transit police colleague roughly 30 years ago, Politico reports. Corporation Counsel Steve Banks said newly surfaced evidence led to the decision on the case.
“Based on my review of new evidence since the original decision to represent him was made, I have determined that he is not entitled to representation by the City in this matter,” Banks said. “Accordingly, the Law Department has asked the court to permit our office to withdraw from representing the former mayor.”
The lawsuit, filed while Adams was still in office, accuses him of sexually assaulting Lorna Beach-Mathura in 1993, when he was a police officer. Beach-Mathura alleges he sought a sexual favor in exchange for helping advance her career. Adams has strongly denied the claim and has said he does not recall meeting her.
A motion from the city’s Corporation Counsel to withdraw from the civil case argues that Adams is not eligible for city-funded legal support because he was “not acting within the scope of his City employment” at the time of the alleged assault. Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec said the decision was “made independently by the Corporation Counsel, as required by law,” adding that Mamdani neither directed the review nor influenced its outcome.
“Of course, Mayor Mamdani has full faith and confidence in the Corporation Counsel’s independent judgment and in his ability to reach the appropriate and just legal conclusions,” Pekec said.
The case against Adams was filed under the Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily expanded the window for survivors to bring claims. The accuser first filed in November 2023, just before the law expired, and later submitted a detailed lawsuit. At the time, the city’s Corporation Counsel called the allegations “ludicrous” and said it expected Adams to be fully vindicated in court.
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