Eric Adams on Thursday night declared he was ‘extremely comfortable’ with how he and his campaign team act, despite the home of his top fundraiser being raided by the FBI.
The raid was part of an investigation into an alleged kickback scheme involving the Turkish government and a Brooklyn construction company, according to a report.
Brianna Suggs’ Brooklyn house was searched while he was on his way to meetings in Washington DC, forcing him to abruptly cancel and return to ‘deal with a matter’. The timing was deliberate, sources said.
Adams on Thursday did not reference the morning’s raid directly, or address his work with Suggs, but said he would cooperate with the investigation.
But he told ABC News: ‘I feel extremely comfortable about how I comply with rules and procedures.
‘I hold myself to a high standard, and I hold my campaign to a high standard, and I hold my staff at City Hall to a high standard.
‘I’m very clear that it is my responsibility to hold myself to a high standard and I will comply with any inquiry that is made and I am demanding that my team do the same.’
Agents searched the home of Brianna Suggs (left), a campaign consultant who has helped Adams (right) raise $2.5million for his 2025 election
The New York Times obtained part of the search warrant, which revealed it was connected to an inquiry into Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign.
Authorities are investigating whether the campaign conspired with a Brooklyn construction company and the Turkish government to funnel foreign money into the campaign’s coffers, apparently through a straw donor scheme.
The construction company was identified in the warrant as KSK Construction Group in Brooklyn, the paper said, and employees of KSK donated nearly $14,000 to Adams’s 2021 campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Some of the agents present belong to the public corruption unit, the paper said.
The warrant sought the 25-year-old’s electronic devices, including cellphones, laptops and tablets.
Adams was on his way to DC for meetings to discuss the city’s migrant crisis when he learned of the raid.
He had filmed a video of himself on a plane on his way there this morning. Without explanation, he returned to New York City while other city mayors stayed in DC for the talks. Adams is yet to comment on the raid.
The warrant was for evidence of 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, according to The New York Times.
Investigators were reportedly interested in whether the campaign channelled benefits to the construction company’s officials and employees, and to Turkish officials.
Adams has boasted about how much he loves Turkey, and last week he hosted a flag-raising for Turkey in Lower Manhattan.
‘I think I’m on my sixth or seventh visit,’ he said, adding that no other mayor in New York history was as close to the country as he was.
Vito Pitta, a lawyer for Adams’s 2021 and 2025 campaigns, said: ‘The campaign has always held itself to the highest standards.
‘The campaign will of course comply with any inquiries, as appropriate.’
Mr. Pitta added: ‘Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this inquiry.’
Neighbors tell .com the agents arrived at 9am and emerged with boxes.
Agents in FBI vests were among those who removed boxes from the home
Agents are shown outside Suggs’ house in Crown Heights today after the raid
They described Suggs as coming from a ‘nice family’.
‘I know the whole family they are very good people. They’re a very good family.
‘I saw the FBI on the block and it was scary, it was really scary,’ Christopher Kelly Burwell, 54, said.
With Suggs’ help, Adams has raised more than $2.5million for his re-election campaign.
The pair have worked together since 2017, when she joined his office of the Brooklyn Borough President to work as an administrative intern.
Suggs was Adams’ fundraiser and director of logistics for his successful 2021 mayoral campaign. She now works as a fundraiser for the Kings County Democratic County Committee.
Known as the ‘party mayor’, Adams’ prolific night-owling and appearances at hotspots like expensive members’ clubs has left a bitter taste in some mouths.
In 2021, six people were charged with making illegal donations to Adams’ first campaign.
Adams was due to be in Washington DC today to meet with officials about the city’s migrant crisis. When news of the raid emerged, he returned to NYC abruptly
The men included former police officers who Adams served with in the NYPD. They were charged with using false names to disguise their donations.
Prosecutors claimed they wanted to have influence over the Mayor’s Office and potentially win city contracts.
Adams came out clean – prosecutors said he had no knowledge of the scheme. It’s unclear if today’s raid was in connection to those earlier charges.
Earlier this year, Suggs was blasted for taking donations to Adams’ re-election campaign while simultaneously working against him on behalf of a Manhattan property owner who had business with the city.
Some speculated that the conflict of interest would lead to pay-for-play politics.
‘The reason I think it should be illegal is because when people work for you on a campaign you become close, and if that person then lobbies the same [official] she’s raising money for, she’s going to get preferential treatment … and that means her client gets preferential treatment.
‘That just doesn’t look good. It doesn’t pass the smell test,’ Betsy Gotbaum, a city government veteran, told The New York Daily News in April.
A recent report from The City also claims Adams’ 2021 campaign repeatedly ignored requests to name donors whose gave more than $300,000.
Their donations, split between 500 donors, utilized a city donation matching program that balloons payments.