FBI seizes phones of New York Mayor Eric Adams as part of fundraising investigation
FBI agents this week seized phones and an iPad from New York City Mayor Eric Adams amid an ongoing investigation into his campaign fundraising, a lawyer for the mayor said Friday.
Agents approached Adams after an event Monday night and requested his devices, Boyd Johnson, a lawyer for the mayor's campaign organization, said in a statement.
"The mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter," Johnsons said. "The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation."
A source familiar with the matter said the mayor handed over two cellphones and an iPad after the event and later turned over additional electronic devices.
News of the mayor's devices being seized was first reported by The New York Times.
A spokesperson for the FBI's New York City press office declined to comment.
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On Nov. 2, the FBI searched the New York home of a campaign fundraiser for Adams. The search was part of a federal campaign finance investigation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
That search prompted the mayor to cancel a planned trip to meet with White House officials in Washington and instead return to New York.
"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," Adams said in a statement on Friday. "I have nothing to hide."
The mayor's team said it alerted authorities involved in the federal investigation to someone who "acted improperly." This was done "in the spirit of transparency and cooperation," the lawyer said.
During a news conference earlier this week, Adams expressed confidence in his campaign organization. "I would be shocked if someone states that our campaign coordinated in illegal behavior," he said.
News of the mayor's devices being seized was first reported by the New York Times.
NBC New York reported earlier this month that Adams, who was not yet halfway through his first term as mayor, had raised more than $2 million for his re-election campaign.
Adams, who retired from the New York Police Department at the rank of captain, campaigned as a tough-on-crime Democrat who would increase NYPD staffing and funding.
In July, six people were charged and accused in an alleged scheme to divert tens of thousands of dollars to Adams' campaign through straw donors, or people whose names were used to subvert individual donation limits.
Two pleaded guilty.
The allegations, filed in state court, did not implicate the mayor, and his representatives have said he did not have knowledge of the alleged scheme.