NEW YORK – FBI brokers seized telephones and an iPad from New York City Mayor Eric Adams this week as a part of an investigation into his marketing campaign fundraising, his lawyer showed Friday.
The seizures took place after an tournament Monday night time, consistent with a commentary from the mayor’s lawyer, Boyd Johnson.
“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 commentary mentioned. “The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation.”
The seizure of the units, first reported by means of The New York Times, got here days after federal brokers searched the Brooklyn home of Adams’ most sensible marketing campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs. That seek triggered the mayor to cancel a deliberate travel to fulfill with White House officers in Washington and as a substitute go back to New York.
Adams, a Democrat, mentioned not anything publicly about his telephones being seized when he met with journalists on Wednesday and mentioned he wasn’t conscious about any wrongdoing by means of individuals of his marketing campaign crew.
In a commentary Friday, Johnson mentioned Adams used to be dedicated to cooperating with the probe.
“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,” he mentioned, providing no additional main points.
A spokesperson for the U.S. lawyer in Manhattan declined to remark.
“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. I have nothing to hide,” Adams, a former police captain, mentioned in a commentary.
The center of attention of the investigation hasn’t been publicly disclosed by means of prosecutors, however a seek warrant obtained by means of the New York Times indicated government are analyzing whether or not the Adams marketing campaign conspired with the Turkish executive to obtain donations from overseas assets, funneled via straw donors.
Adams on Wednesday mentioned he had no private wisdom of any wrong fundraising, and did not consider he had anything else to in my view worry from the investigation. Neither Adams nor Suggs had been publicly accused of wrongdoing.
At the time, the mayor’s leader City Hall attorney had showed that the management used to be speaking with federal prosecutors, however declined to speak about what that entailed.