The FBI seized electronic devices from Mayor Eric Adams earlier this week, according to his campaign, as scrutiny of Adams’ fundraising intensifies while a federal public corruption probe into donations to his campaign is underway.
FBI agents approached Adams on Monday night after an event and requested his electronic devices, said Adams’ campaign attorney Boyd Johnson in a written statement Friday. Evan Thies, a campaign spokesman, said the mayor had been served a search warrant.
To obtain a search warrant, investigators would have had to prove to a judge that there is probable cause to believe that the devices sought would reveal evidence that a crime had been committed.
Adams’ attorney did not specify where the mayor was Monday night but his schedule showed that he was slated to deliver remarks at NYU downtown for an event on autism.
“The Mayor immediately complied with the FBI’s request and provided them with electronic devices. The mayor has not been accused of any wrongdoing and continues to cooperate with the investigation,” Boyd said.
“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. I have nothing to hide,” Adams said in a statement.
The New York Times, which first reported the seizure, said the FBI agents took at least two cellphones and an iPad from the mayor, and returned them to him within days.
A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment. Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, also declined to comment.
It’s unclear if the seizure of Adams’s devices is directly related to the Nov. 2 FBI raid at the home of Brianna Suggs, the mayor’s main campaign fundraiser. Boyd said Adams is cooperating with federal authorities.
“After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly. In the…
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