2023-11-11 03:06:59
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New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) had his electronic devices, including phones, seized by FBI agents Monday, according to the mayor’s campaign attorney. The seizures are connected to a federal investigation into fundraising during his 2021 campaign.
“As a former member of law enforcement, I expect all members of my staff to follow the law and fully cooperate with any sort of investigation — and I will continue to do exactly that,” Adams said.
Adams’s attorney, Boyd Johnson, told The Washington Post that Johnson was not accused of “any wrongdoing.” The FBI declined to comment Friday night.
The seizures, first reported by the New York Times, occurred while the former police captain was leaving an event, according to Johnson, and came days following FBI agents searched the Brooklyn home of Adams’s top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, on Nov. 2.
That day, the mayor’s team notified investigators that it had knowledge of another individual acting inappropriately, a person with knowledge of the events said Friday, on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive dealings. The person might not say who that individual was or what conduct was deemed inappropriate.
In a statement, Johnson said the “behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators.”
Adams’s team believes the information it volunteered precipitated the FBI’s request for devices. Several devices were taken Monday and others were surrendered later when Adams notified authorities that there were more. Adams’s passwords were given voluntarily to federal investigators, the person also said.
After the search of Suggs’s home, Vito Pitta, a lawyer for Adams’s 2021 campaign, told The Post in a statement that the mayor had not been contacted as part of the inquiry but that the campaign was complying with the investigation.
While the scope of the investigation has not been made public, a search warrant obtained by the Times shows investigators are looking into the Turkish government’s involvement with the campaign, and specifically whether it conspired with members of the campaign over fundraising.
In his 2025 reelection drive, Adams has raised more than $2.5 million and paid the fundraiser’s company nearly $100,000, according to campaign disclosure reports.
Adams had been traveling with other mayors to D.C. for meetings with federal officials regarding the relocation of migrants to their cities when Suggs’s home was searched. Adams abruptly canceled his meetings following the search.
“I have nothing to hide,” Adams said in his Friday statement.
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