NYC Mayor Issues Fresh Comments, Insists No Wrongdoing on His Part Amid FBI Probe

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a Veteran's Day breakfast celebration at Gracie Mansion in New York City on Nov. 9, 2023. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has insisted he has not been accused of any wrongdoing amid FBI probes into his campaign fundraising and alleged role in greenlighting the new Turkish consulate building opening.

Federal authorities are reportedly investigating if back in 2021, Mr. Adams, acting as Brooklyn borough president and fresh off his win in the Democratic primary, was approached by Turkish officials for assistance in opening the new Turkish Consulate on Manhattan’s East Side.

According to The New York Times’s reporting about the case, Mr. Adams is being investigated for contacting a New York Fire Department (FDNY) official, urging the approval of the Turkish government’s occupancy of the structure, despite safety concerns around its fire systems. Ultimately, the new Turkish Consulate was opened in September 2021.

In a Nov. 12 statement to reporters at an unrelated memorial event in Queens, Mayor Adams said any contact he may have with the then Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro about the Turkish Consulate was only part of his “basic duties as the borough president.”

“What I’m really hoping is that these periodic leaks stop. We’re cooperating; we need to do this together, so all the facts come out.”

He reiterated these stances through a Nov. 12 statement from a campaign spokesperson and stressed he had not been accused of any wrongdoing or indicted.

“As a borough president, part of my routine role was to notify government agencies of issues on behalf of constituents and constituencies,” Mr. Adams said.

“I have not been accused of wrongdoing and I will continue to cooperate with investigators.”

Information about the ongoing probe by federal authorities has been widely shared, including when the FBI seized the mayor’s phones and an iPad as part of the investigation into his campaign financing, an attorney for New York City Mayor Eric Adams told The Epoch Times.

Last week, the FBI also raided the home of Brianna Suggs, one of the mayor’s chief political consultants. The raid was reportedly part of an investigation to determine whether a conspiracy around financing existed between Mr. Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and a Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group with close ties to Turkey.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters in Washington on Nov. 6, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The attorney, Boyd Johnson, claims that after learning about the federal investigation, Mr. Adams’s office discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly, and that this misconduct was allegedly immediately and proactively reported to investigators.

City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg also released a statement saying that the mayor and the “team are continuing to work with investigators and cooperate.”

“We hope that investigators will continue to cooperate with us and reprimand any federal officer who has improperly leaked details about this investigation as such conduct could prejudice the public and undermines the integrity of our law enforcement process,” the statement said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the FBI and Mayor Adams’s office for further comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.

Catherine Yang contributed to this report.