New York City Mayor Eric Adams' phones, iPad seized by FBI in campaign fundraising investigation
NEW YORK -- FBI agents seized New York City Mayor Eric Adams' iPhones and iPad in what appears to be part of a corruption investigation into campaign fundraising.
The seizure happened Monday night. The FBI approached the mayor on the street, asked his security to step aside and confiscated two iPhones and an iPad. They were returned a few days later.
Adams' campaign attorney Boyd Johnson issued the following statement, which appears to raise questions about someone else close to him being involved in some kind of impropriety:
"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. The Mayor has been and remains committed to cooperating in this matter. On Monday night, the FBI approached the mayor after an event. 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."
On Wednesday, at his weekly meeting with reporters, Adams faced questions mostly about the stunning FBI raid on the home of his chief campaign fundraiser Briana Suggs. The mayor did not reveal that he had been approached by FBI agents who confiscated his electronic devices two days earlier.
Sources told CBS New York political reporter Marcia Kramer the information Adams' lawyers turned over to investigators did not involve Suggs, but someone else in the mayor's circle.
Sources refused to characterize the person, but information about them was believed to be on one of the mayor's devices, which were apparently returned to him after a few days.
An FBI spokesperson declined to comment.
Watch Marcia Kramer's report
"What this does is lay the groundwork for the plot to thicken substantially with regard to the mayor's involvement," Kean University Provost David Birdsell told CBS New York.
Birdsell says while there is no implication of guilt, this certainly raises the stakes for the mayor.
"Up until this moment, nobody had made any allegations about the mayor's involvement in the potential alleged fundraising from foreign sources, in this case, Turkish sources, but now they're seizing his devices," he said.
And just what was the FBI looking for?
"Text messages, you will find. Emails, you will find. And just as importantly, you're gonna find evidence of when calls were made or received and who made or received those calls," former U.S. attorney Zachary Carter said.
The mayor issued his own statement saying, "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."