OAN’s Brooke Mallory
4:13 PM – Friday, November 10, 2023
As part of an intensified corruption probe against New York City mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign, the FBI confiscated electronic devices, including two or more cellphones, according to a New York Times (NYT) article published on Friday.
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It comes after an FBI search of the residence of Adams’s primary campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, which occurred earlier this month. During this period, investigators allegedly seized three cellphones and two laptop systems.
Prior reports claimed that Adams and his campaign staff had frequently turned down requests from authorities to reveal the source of around $300,000 in donations, however, it was unclear if this investigation included any allegations of breaking campaign finance laws.
The NYT described how FBI agents took “at least two cellphones and an iPad” that belonged to Adams earlier this week. This was days after the November 2nd raid that took place at 25-year-old Brianna Suggs’ residence.
The outlet was informed by insider sources that when agents approached Adams on the street, they ordered his security detail to move aside. They then entered his car and took the devices with the permission of a warrant that was granted by the court.
The document also stated that he received all of the equipment back “within a matter of days” and that the FBI was able to duplicate the data on the devices thanks to the warrant.
Adams, a former captain in the New York Police Department, released a statement through his spokesperson on Friday afternoon expressing how he had cooperated with authorities.
“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 that,” Adams said. “I have nothing to hide.”
Boyd Johnson, his campaign attorney, also posted a statement of his own.
“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,” Johnson said.
However, he did not elaborate further on just who the individual was or what they had done specifically that was illegal.
One detail that was shared with reporters was how the investigation now serves to discover if Adams’s 2021 campaign efforts “conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers.”
The warrant also stated that it was looking for information on donations made by Bay Atlantic University, a Turkish-founded college in Washington, D.C., which is connected to a school that Adams is rumored to have visited during his 2015 trip to Turkey as the president of the Brooklyn Borough Council.
The City, a local news website in New York City, stated that the donations that were claimed earlier to be under investigation were from about 500 distinct individuals.
“The campaign has responded to every notice from [the campaign finance board] as appropriate,” said Vito Pitta, Adams’s campaign counsel.
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