Eric Adams, the Democratic mayor of New York City, said this week that he’s hired a private attorney following an FBI raid that was conducted last week at the home of one of his top fundraisers.
Last week, the FBI searched through 25-year-old Brianna Sugg’s home, seizing two laptops and three iPhones as part of the search. They also took papers and other pieces of evidence that were related to an investigation they’re conducting into corruption.
Suggs served as a campaign consultant to Adams’ election campaign for mayor.
On Wednesday, Adams spoke to reporters and said he wasn’t afraid of anything happening to him as a result of the investigation into Suggs.
As he said:
“It would really shock me if someone that was hired by my campaign did something that’s inappropriate. Not only would it shock me, it would hurt me.”
A reporter questioned him as to whether he might face federal criminal charges as a result of the investigation, but he just laughed that off. In fact, he even said that he had hired a private attorney from the WilmerHale law firm to represent him just in case.
Lisa Zornberg, who’s the chief counsel of New York City, said that the Adams administration has been in contact with Manhattan federal prosecutors about the investigation. She wouldn’t elaborate any further on what those communications included, though.
As the mayor said:
“I just want to be completely transparent. That’s what I’ve stated all the time. I sleep well at night. I am clear that we follow the rules. We follow the rules, and I am angry if there are those in any way who attempt to do anything that will go against our process of how we collect campaign dollars or the procedures that are in our city.
“But, my campaign will follow the rules. We will continue to follow the rules.”
Last week, the New York Times issued a report that said the FBI raid that was carried out at Suggs’ home was part of a broader inquiry into whether there was any money from foreign sources that was funneled into the campaign Adams ran for mayor.
The Times did add that the investigation isn’t directly targeting Adams.
Still, the raid that happened in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights certainly put Adams back in the national spotlight. This was especially true since Adams was going to meet with President Joe Biden as well as other mayors to talk about the illegal immigrant crisis.
When news of the raid broke, though, Adams rushed back home to New York City. Earlier that day, Adams had posted a video of him sitting in an airplane that was bound for Washington, D.C.
Adams discussed the investigation fully at the mayor’s residence Thursday night, saying that he would fully participate with the probe. He said:
“I hold my campaign to the highest ethical standards. Any inquiry that is done we’re going to fully participate and make sure that it’s done correctly.”
