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.”
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.