Lawyers for embattled New York City Mayor Eric Adams are seeking sanctions against the Department of Justice, which they accuse of illegally leaking information about its investigation into the Big Apple boss to the mainstream media. 

The leaks have been going on for about a year, his lawyers wrote, right up to the day before the charges became public knowledge, when sources confirmed the indictment to media outlets, including Fox News.

“In fact, the day before the indictment was unsealed — and even before the Mayor’s counsel was notified of the indictment — The New York Times reported that the Mayor ‘has been indicted in a federal corruption investigation, people with knowledge of the matter said,’ and that ‘[f]ederal prosecutors were expected to announce more details on Thursday,'” Adams lawyer Avi Perry wrote in court documents made public Tuesday.

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Mayor Eric Adams and lawyer Alex Spiro speak to the media outside a federal court in New York City on Sept. 27, 2024. (Reuters/Caitlin Ochs)

Hours before the Times report, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose district includes parts of New York City, called on Adams to step down.

Read the filing:

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Due to the secret nature of grand jury proceedings, only a handful of people could have known about the mayor’s indictment before it was unsealed last week, Perry wrote. Those are the members of the grand jury itself, court staff and Justice Department prosecutors.

“But of those, only the prosecution team would have been privy to the government’s plan to announce additional details the next day (as it did in a self-laudatory press conference),” Perry continued. “It is therefore clear that the prosecution team is responsible for the leak.”

They are asking for a hearing on the alleged misconduct and appropriate consequences in a long-shot bid to have the indictment thrown out.

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A NYPD officer stands outside Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams, Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in New York City. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Adams could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted of all charges in an indictment experts described as just the “opening salvo.” With investigations ongoing into a number of city hall staffers and campaign aides, there could be more charges coming.

Adams’ team has repeatedly asked prosecutors to “plug the leaks” to no avail, according to the filing. Now they are asking the court to hold a hearing on the matter.

Mayor Eric Adams during a press conference at City Hall, Nov. 21, 2023. (Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Daily News via Getty Images)

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The mayor has also characterized the investigation as retaliation for his criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s border policy.

Adams previously blamed the White House for a migrant crisis in New York City that overloaded its shelter system. The influx of illegal immigrants coincided with a spike in robberies in the Big Apple, city police said earlier this year.