Photo by David Trinks on Unsplash
CV NEWS FEED // The FBI on Thursday raided the homes of several top officials in the administration of New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams in the midst of an ongoing corruption investigation.
The FBI searched the homes of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and Advisor to the Mayor on Public Safety Timothy Pearson.
Additionally, the New York Post stated that the home of NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban was a target and that the raids on Adams’ team were part of a “sweeping corruption probe involving influence peddling.”
In November 2023, CatholicVote reported on the FBI’s raid of a donor to Adams’ campaign, Brianna Suggs, amid allegations of illegally funneled funds for Adam’s 2021 campaign:
The New York Times reported that investigators “sought evidence to support potential charges that included the theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, as well as campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.”
The probe into Adams’ campaign in November investigated claims that the Adams campaign “conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations” through a “straw donor scheme where donations are made in the names of people who did not actually give money.”
Adams’ team denied allegations that the raids were connected to the mayor.
In speaking to Fox News, City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg stated:
Investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation. As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.
On Thursday evening, Adams went live on Fox 5 NYC to dispel rumors about his connections to the FBI’s investigation. “I have been clear that my message throughout my public life is to follow the law and that’s what we’re doing, And we’re going to comply with whatever inquiry and whatever we have to submit,” Adams asserted.
The Mayor said he and his team were cooperating with the investigation and are on good terms with law enforcement.
“Two different options here,” Adams said:
either … where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and indictments are going to follow – or two, this is baseless and the criminal justice system is being weaponized against you. I would love to engage in a good conversation around this, but [that would] just be irresponsible for me, you know, as a former law enforcement person. I know, allow the reviews to take their course and that is what I’m doing.
