(New York) FBI agents entered the official residence of New York Mayor Eric Adams and seized his phone early Thursday morning, hours before an indictment detailing criminal charges against the Democrat was to be made public.
Mr. Adams was indicted by a grand jury on federal criminal charges that remain sealed, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
“Federal agents showed up at Gracie Mansion this morning with the intention of creating a spectacle [à nouveau] and pick up Mayor Adams’ phone [à nouveau]Mr. Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, said in a statement, specifying that the mayor had not been arrested. They send a dozen agents to take a phone when we would have gladly given it back.”
Federal law enforcement officers were seen entering the mayor’s Manhattan residence, with several vehicles bearing federal law enforcement identification plates parked outside.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment on the investigation. An FBI spokesman also declined to comment. A spokesman for the mayor did not immediately respond to questions Thursday morning.
In a video address released Wednesday night, Mr. Adams pledged to fight any charges against him, saying he had been made a “target” in a case “built on lies.”
“I will fight these injustices with all my strength and spirit,” he promised.
PHOTO SETH WENIG, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
New York Mayor Eric Adams
It was not immediately clear what laws Mr. Adams is accused of breaking or when he might appear in court.
The indictment caps an extraordinary few weeks in New York, during which federal investigators have focused on members of Mr. Adams’ inner circle and during which raids, subpoenas and resignations of senior officials have proliferated.
Federal prosecutors are believed to be conducting multiple and separate investigations into Mr. Adams and his top aides, relatives of those aides, campaign fundraising and possible influence peddling within the police and fire departments.
In the last two weeks alone, the city’s police commissioner and the school system’s superintendent have announced their resignations.
Nearly a year ago, FBI agents seized Mr. Adams’s electronic devices as part of an investigation focused, at least in part, on the mayor’s campaign contributions and interactions with the Turkish government. Because the charges were sealed, it was unclear whether they addressed those same issues.
In early September, federal investigators seized the devices of the police commissioner, the school system superintendent, two deputy mayors and other trusted people inside and outside City Hall.
All have denied wrongdoing.