The FBI and the NYPD raided the home of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ chief fundraiser on Thursday as part of an investigation into alleged illegal funds received from a foreign government.
The mayor had to cancel a White House meeting centered on the current migrant crisis burgeoning in New York City, with sources telling CBS News that he learned of an international probe into “foreign government influence peddling.”
“You probably heard the reports involving one of my campaign staffers, and listen, everyone knows me. I comply with the rules. We’re going to comply with any inquiry, and we will all do that,” Adams said on Thursday. “That is what we do. I have not been contacted by anyone involving this, and I’m just going to continue running this city, the greatest city on the globe.”
Adams’ campaign lawyer said the mayor received no word of an impending raid, which happened early Thursday morning in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
New York Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams speaks to supporters and the media upon leaving a voting center after casting his ballot in Brooklyn, New York, on November 2, 2021. (ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
“Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this inquiry. He has always held the campaign to the highest standards,” his counsel said.
FBI agents were “seen carrying evidence boxes from the home the mayor’s chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs,” according to CBS News.
“Sources said the Crown Heights raid was one of multiple locations visited by cops and federal agents as part of an international probe into what two sources described as ‘foreign government influence peddling,'” it added.
FBI agents with the public corruption squads also reportedly questioned Suggs during the raid, who has not been charged with a crime. There has been no indication that the agents found evidence implicating her.
One source even said that the probe includes possible illegal funds received from Turkey, which Adams reportedly “visited before taking office.”
Suggs, a fundraiser and lobbyist, has earned nearly $100,000 over the past two years for her services.
“The mayor heard of an issue related to the campaign, and takes these issues seriously, so he wanted to get back to New York as quickly as possible. He plans to return to Washington and reschedule these meetings as soon as he can,” said Deputy Mayor Fabian Levy.
According to the New York Times, investigators were also seeking to “learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, D.C., that also has ties to the country and to Mr. Adams.”
“According to the search warrant, investigators were also focused on whether the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials,” it reported.
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