New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) had his phone
seized by the FBI as the agency continues its investigation into whether
his 2021 campaign received illegal donations from the Turkish
government.
On Friday, FBI agents with a court-authorized warrant
reportedly stopped Adams on the street, requesting his security detail
to step aside. The group then proceeded to enter his SUV, where they
seized his cell phone and an iPad.
In a statement, Adams' campaign attorney, Boyd Johnson, remained innocent on behalf of the mayor.
After
learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an
individual had recently acted improperly. In the spirit of transparency
and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported
to investigators. The mayor has been and remains committed to
cooperating in this matter. On Monday night, the FBI approached the
mayor after an event. The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI’s
request and provided them with electronic devices. The mayor has not
been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the
investigation.
The FBI’s approach in daylight to Adams marks a significant turn in their investigation.
Following
the seizure of his devices, the Democrat mayor insisted that he has
nothing to hide and will cooperate with authorities.
Last
week, FBI agents searched the home of Adams’ campaign consultant. They
seized three iPhones, two laptops, personal documents, and other
evidence.
According to the New York Times, the FBI
also confiscated a “manila folder labeled Eric Adams" and seven
"contribution card binders.”
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She has been known to be a key figure in Adams’ inner circle, earning more than $150,000 from the mayor’s campaign.
More from the New York Times on the investigation:
The
warrant obtained by the F.B.I. to search Ms. Suggs’s home sought
evidence of a conspiracy to violate campaign finance law between members
of Mr. Adams’s campaign, the Turkish government or Turkish nationals,
and a Brooklyn-based developer, KSK Construction, whose owners are
originally from Turkey. The warrant also sought records about donations
from Bay Atlantic University, a Washington, D.C., college whose founder
is Turkish and is affiliated with a school Mr. Adams visited when he
went to Turkey as Brooklyn borough president in 2015.
The
warrant, reviewed by The New York Times, indicated authorities were
looking at whether the Turkish government or Turkish nationals funneled
donations to Mr. Adams using a so-called straw donor scheme, in which
the contributors listed were not the actual source of the money. The
warrant also inquired about Mr. Adams’s campaign’s use of New York
City’s generous public matching program, in which New York City offers
an eight-to-one match of the first $250 of a resident’s donation.
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