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The number of people under investigation in Mayor Eric Adams’ world continues to grow.
The latest: Federal investigators seized the mayor’s phones and iPad as part of a federal investigation into whether his 2021 mayoral campaign conspired with the Turkish government to accept illegal foreign donations.
Meanwhile and ongoing: At least two guilty pleas on conspiracy charges from previous donors, an indictment of a former Adams commissioner accused of taking bribes, and evidence of possible straw donors uncovered by THE CITY.
Remember, however: The mayor himself has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing, and at a recent press conference repeatedly said that he instructs his team to “follow the law.”
If you’re having a hard time keeping up, we don’t blame you. Here are the highlights:
What is the FBI investigating, and why did they raid Adams’ campaign aide?
By now, you may know that agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigations searched the home of Brianna Suggs — the 25-year-old campaign fundraiser for Adams’ 2025 mayoral campaign — in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on Nov. 2.
They did that, The New York Times reported, because the FBI is looking into alleged straw donations and illegal foreign influence in the 2021 mayoral race.
What did investigators find?
The agents took binders, a manila folder, papers, two laptops and three iPhones, according to the Times.
As far as we know, Suggs was also served a subpoena directing her to testify before a Manhattan federal grand jury, but she has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Hours before the FBI search of her home, the NYPD sent officers to Suggs’ address on a “wellness check” at the behest of the police department’s Internal Affairs unit, according to reporting by the Messenger.
Who is Briana Suggs?
Suggs has been close with Adams’ camp for years, going back to when she was 17. She has worked with him when he was Brooklyn borough president, and was a campaign fundraiser when he ran for mayor in 2021. She is very close to his inner circle, sometimes referred to as the goddaughter of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the mayor’s right-hand-woman, Politico New York reported.
A source close to the campaign told THE CITY that Suggs, who is also a fundraiser for the Adams-associated political action committee, Striving for a Better New York, was “committed to elect Eric Adams as mayor.”
“She was involved with everything, especially fundraising.”
Why did the FBI search the mayor’s electronics?
We don’t know the specifics of what they were looking for, but the New York Times’ reporting on the seizure of his two phones and an iPad indicate that the FBI had a search warrant, took his devices and returned them within days.
