The mayor of New York, who was a police officer before being mayor, finds himself in the crosshairs of his former colleagues. FBI agents confiscated Eric Adams' electronic devices on Monday, in what is seen as a telling escalation of the federal investigation into whether his 2021 election campaign relied on illegal funding from the Turkish government and others who pumped money into his funds. coffers for possible favors.
All very moviey. According to what 'The New York Times' reported this Friday, investigators approached the mayor when he was on the street. They asked their protection team to step back and facilitate the operation. Federal agents got into Adams' SUV next to him and, pursuant to a court order, seized his electronics, including two cell phones and an iPad. They were returned to him after a few days. Thanks to having the court order, security forces could make a copy of the information stored on those devices.
This version was confirmed last night by Boyd Johnson, Adams' lawyer, integrated into his electoral campaign apparatus. “The mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter,” said the lawyer. “The mayor has not been accused of any crime and continues to collaborate with the investigation,” he clarified. “He immediately complied with the FBI's request and handed over all of his electronic devices,” he insisted. That happened after he attended an event. Adams is very into attending and participating in events.
"After becoming aware of the federal investigation, it was discovered that a person had recently acted inappropriately. Based on the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately reported to investigators," the lawyer stressed in his statement.
In his own statement, Adams recalled where he came from. “As a former member of law enforcement, I expect everyone on my team to follow the law and fully cooperate with any type of investigation, and I will continue to do exactly that,” he said.
Neither the lawyer nor the mayor identified those possibly involved or the matter that motivated this investigation. However, the investigation into the mayor's campaign emerged publicly on November 2. That day the FBI searched the home of the mayor's fundraising manager, where they seized two laptops and a folder labeled “Eric Adams.”
Brianna Suggs, the 25-year-old tax collector and former intern, has not opened her mouth since that entry and search took place at her home. But that day, Adams was in Washington for a meeting of mayors with White House advisors and legislators to address the immigrant problem. Although he had said that this massive arrival of undocumented immigrants "will destroy New York," Adams took the flight back to the Big Apple immediately, without attending that meeting that was so urgent for him.
This same week, at a press conference, the mayor assured that "I would be surprised if someone claimed that our campaign is coordinated in illegal conduct." He also justified his sudden return from Washington by her desire to be with his team and his concern for Suggs, who was going through "a traumatic experience." And he noted that he did not speak to her that day to avoid the appearance that he was interfering with the ongoing investigation.
That search warrant was supported by evidence of an alleged conspiracy to violate established campaign finance laws between members of his electoral team, the government of Turkey or Turkish citizens and the Brooklyn-based real estate developer KSK, whose original owner He was from Turkey.
The judicial search also included a search for documents on donations from Bay Atlantic University, in Washington, DC, a campus founded by a Turkish citizen who is affiliated with another university that Adams visited on his trip to Turkey in 2105, when he was president of the university. Brooklyn council.
The investigation focuses on discovering whether the Turkish government or Turkish citizens close to the executive made donations to Adams using front men. This would mean that those who appeared as donors were not actually donors and were covering up the real ones. Furthermore, in this case it is being investigated whether in exchange for that money, Turkey or the KSK firm received compensation for their contributions to the electoral campaign.
It is not the only issue that shadows the current mayor due to financial issues. Manhattan's chief prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, charged six people in July for the alleged plot to divert tens of thousands of dollars to the mayor's 2021 campaign through another scheme of front men. Two of the defendants pleaded guilty. These charges, made in state court, did not implicate Adams and his attorneys stressed that he had no knowledge of the scheme.
