New York City Mayor Eric Adams is under investigation by federal prosecutors and the FBI for public corruption, the New York Times reports. Officials are investigating if Adams’s 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations. The investigation burst into public view on Thursday when federal agents conducted an early-morning raid at the Brooklyn home of the mayor’s chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs. Investigators also are trying to learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, D.C., that also has ties to the country and to Adams. Investigators were also focused on whether the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials.
The agents seized three iPhones and two laptop computers, along with papers and other evidence, including a “manila folder labeled Eric Adams,” seven “contribution card binders” and other materials. There was no indication that the investigation was targeting the mayor, and he is not accused of wrongdoing. Yet the raid apparently prompted him to cancel several meetings scheduled for Thursday morning in Washington, D.C. Adams defended his campaign, saying that he held it “to the highest ethical standards.” He said he had not been contacted by any law enforcement officials, but pledged to cooperate in any inquiry. Investigators sought evidence to support potential charges that included the theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.