Federal investigators searched Gracie Mansion early Thursday as U.S. prosecutors are expected to unseal an indictment against Mayor Adams.
Nearly a dozen men and women in business suits showed up outside the Mayor’s Upper East Side residence in SUVs, some with with federal parking placards, just before 6 a.m.
The men and women entered the grounds with bags of camera equipment, briefcases, backpacks, and duffel bags and executed a search warrant to collect additional evidence. Last November, the feds seized multiple phones and electronic devices from the mayor as part of their corruption prove.
Alex Spiro, Adams’ attorney in the federal investigation, slammed the Gracie Mansion search.
“Federal agents appeared this morning at Gracie Mansion in an effort to create a spectacle (again) and take Mayor Adams phone (again),” Spiro said. “He has not been arrested and looks forward to his day in court. They send a dozen agents to pick up a phone when we would have happily turned it in.”
An email to the U.S. Southern District for comment was not immediately returned.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District is expected to unseal an indictment against Adams later Thursday. The exact charges weren’t immediately disclosed but two sources familiar with the matter said they stem from allegations that Turkey’s government funneled illegal donations into Adams’ 2021 campaign coffers.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the probe is also looking at communications between Adams and the governments of five other foreign countries.
“I always knew that if I stood my ground for New Yorkers that I would be a target — and a target I became,” Adams said in a video statement late Wednesday. “If I am charged, I am innocent and I will fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
A handful of others involved in either Mayor Adams campaign or City Hall operations are also expected to be indicted Thursday, sources familiar with the matter say.
Several elected officials and advocates have called on Mayor Adams to resign in light of the indictment, claiming he can’t oversee city government while defending himself in a criminal federal case.
An indictment would make Adams the first New York City mayor in the modern era to face criminal charges while in office and comes as his administration is reeling from the news of additional investigations and a series of high-profile resignations.
Originally Published:
