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FBI agents seized New York Mayor Eric Adams’ cellphones and an iPad earlier this week – days after raiding the home of his fundraising chief.
Last week, Adams rushed home from DC after the raid on 25-year-old confidante and top fundraiser Brianna Suggs as part of an investigation into an alleged kickback scheme linked to the Turkish government and others.
The New York Times reports that FBI officials approached the Democrat, a former cop, on the street and asked that this security team step away. The officers then climbed into Adams’ SUV and took his devices — at least two cellphones and an iPad.
The devices were returned to Adams within a few days. The FBI can make copies of data from seized devices if they have a search warrant.
Adams announced this week that he has hired a personal attorney.
Still, Adams said in his first news conference since the raid that he sleeps well at night” as he stood by Suggs and denied any wrongdoing.
FBI agents seized New York Mayor Eric Adams’ cellphones and an iPad earlier this week – days after raiding the home of his fundraising chief
The Brooklyn home of Adam’s top fundraiser and longtime confidante Brianna Suggs, 25, was raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into an alleged kickback scheme
The mayor said his campaign followed the rules and will continue to do so during the investigation into his fundraising.
It is not clear whether the officers were referring to the investigation when they took his electronic devices.
On Wednesday, Adams said he would be “shocked and hurt” if officials discovered his campaign had done anything illegal. Still, he hired an attorney, whom he declined to name.
The mayor told reporters he decided to give the young woman an opportunity to work in politics that “African Americans don’t get.”
“African Americans are often not allowed to play on a national scale, as fundraisers, media, speechwriters… I had a young, brilliant young lady who was an intern, hardworking, willing to work as many hours as she could,” he said. said.
“We saw an opportunity to open up the path for her that I saw others get… she worked hard, she learned, and the people who met her were truly blown away, and I’m proud of her and she will get through this. .’
Neither Adams nor anyone in his campaign has been charged with any crimes.
“We followed the rules because we knew our campaign would be scrutinized,” he told reporters.
With Suggs’ help, Adams has raised more than $2.5 million for his re-election campaign.
In D.C., Adams was scheduled to lead a delegation of mayors from the country’s five largest cities that were struggling with an influx of migrants when he decided to return to New York.
Officers are shown outside Suggs’ home in Crown Heights after the Nov. 2 raid
Adams was scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., to meet with officials about the city’s migrant crisis. When news of the raid emerged, he abruptly returned to New York
Reporters scrutinized the decision Wednesday, questioning whether his choice showed he was putting his campaign issues ahead of the city’s current migrant crisis.
But Adams defended his decision to return to New York and miss meetings with D.C. officials to ask for federal help, saying he wanted to be present for his city hall and campaign teams.
Suggs has worked for Adams since 2017, when she joined his staff in the Brooklyn Borough President’s office as a teenager, reporting directly to her godmother, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a longtime ally of Adams who now serves as the mayor’s chief adviser.
When Adams, a Democrat, ran for mayor in 2021, Suggs was chief fundraiser and director of logistics, helping to organize events and raise money from donors. Records show she was paid more than $150,000 for her work on his previous campaign and his current re-election bid.
The New York Times obtained part of the search warrant, which showed it was related to an investigation into Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign.
Authorities are investigating whether the campaign colluded with a Brooklyn construction company and the Turkish government to funnel foreign money into the campaign’s coffers, apparently through a straw donor program.