On Friday, reports surfaced that the FBI had seized New York Mayor Eric Adams’ electronics earlier this week as part of a federal corruption probe tied to his 2021 campaign.
The New York Times first reported that federal agents seized the devices in connection to an investigation into whether Adams’ campaign colluded with the Turkish government, among others, to direct money into his mayoral effort.
Earlier this week, agents reportedly approached Adams and asked his security team to step aside. The agents then got into Adams’ SUV with him and executed a court-authorized warrant to seize his devices — including at least two cell phones and an iPad, according to information from two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.
They reported that Adams’ electronics were returned to him within a matter of days.
According to the Times, Adams, a 63-year-old retired police captain, said on Wednesday “he is so strident in urging his staff to ‘follow the law’ that he can be almost ‘annoying.’ He laughed at the notion that he had any potential criminal exposure.”
The news comes just over a week after the home of Adams’ chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, was raided in connection with the investigation.
RTM previously reported that the raid was conducted on Thursday of last week, in the early morning as Adams was traveling to Washington, D.C., for long-awaited face-to-face meetings with Biden administration officials regarding the migrant crisis.
Adams promptly canceled the meetings and returned to New York upon learning of the raid. Suggs has not spoken publicly since the raid.
However, in the wake of the raid, Adams refused to remove Suggs from his team, standing by her and defending her in subsequent interviews.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire,” Adams told Dan Mannarino on PIX11 in his first interview following the raid. “I have full confidence in [Suggs]. She has done an amazing job. She will stay with the campaign team.”
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