Mayor Eric Adams reacts to FBI raid at home of chief fundraiser: "Everyone knows me, I comply with the rules"
NEW YORK -- Mayor Eric Adams was in damage control mode Thursday evening after bowing out of a high-level White House meeting on the asylum seeker crisis to return to New York.
He was on the first plane back to the city after receiving the startling news of an FBI raid at the home of his chief fundraiser.
Two highly placed sources tell CBS New York the FBI and NYPD made multiple raids Thursday as part of federal corruption probe into foreign influence peddling involving the Turkish government and donations to Adams' 2021 mayoral campaign.
"You probably heard the reports involving one of my campaign staffers, and listen, everyone knows me. I comply with the rules. We're going to comply with any inquiry, and we will all do that. That is what we do. I have not been contacted by anyone involving this, and I'm just going to continue running this city, the greatest city on the globe," Adams said early Thursday evening.
The mayor says he has not been contacted by investigators and was surprised to find out what the probe entailed.
"It shocked me when I heard the preliminary reports, and we're going to see and allow the inquiry to take its course," Adams told CBS New York political reporter Marcia Kramer.
After appearing at the New York Board of Rabbi's humanitarian awards reception, Adams insisted he has done nothing wrong.
"I feel extremely comfortable about how I comply with rules and procedures," he said.
Watch Ali Bauman's report
Nevertheless he fled Washington on Thursday morning before a scheduled White House meeting on the asylum seeker crisis after the FBI raided the Crown Heights home of his chief fundraiser, Brianna Suggs.
"A real professional, she does her job well and she's gonna comply with any inquiry that's made," Adams said.
Agents -- some in raid jackets, some in plain clothes -- could be seen carrying evidence boxes and papers to a black van.
The New York Times reported that agents seized three iPhones and two laptop computers and various paper documents. The Times said the search warrant also listed something identified as "manila folder labeled 'Eric Adams.'"
"I hold myself to a high standard, I hold my campaign to a high standard, and I hold my staffers at City Hall to a high standard," Adams said.
The raid was reportedly part of a corruption probe into whether the mayor's 2021 election campaign worked with the Turkish government to receive illegal donations.
A highly placed source told CBS New York the probe may look into a visit to Turkey made by Adams when he was Brooklyn borough president.
"I'm probably the only mayor in the history of this city that has not only visited Turkey once, but I think I'm on my sixth or seventh visit to Turkey," Adams said at an event on Oct. 27.
The raid was a surprised to Suggs' neighbors in the quiet brownstone neighborhood.
"I woke up to the FBI. I never saw the FBI on the block ... I thought it was a Mar-a-Lago raid. I thought they were coming for Donald Trump or something," neighbor Christopher Burwell Sr. said. "I know whatever's going on, she got drawn in 'cause they're a good family."
There were also reports the FBI is looking to a construction company with ties to Turkey in a Williamsburg building.
Suggs, who is 25, has raised millions for Adams, including $2.5 million for his 2025 re-election campaign.
"We have probably one of the strictest reviews. We have a review of the team. We have a compliance attorney that I pay that does a review, also. We carry a very strict review to do the best we can and make sure that we are having those dollars that are coming in that are appropriate. We turn down a lot of money. We send it back. We don't believe it's correct, so we adhere to a very strict policy in our campaign," Adams said.
Suggs, who is also a lobbyist, has been paid about $100,000 over the past two years by the Adams campaign.
She is just the latest in the mayor's circle to come to the attention of law enforcement.
In September, Eric Ulrich, Adams' former building commissioner, was indicted on 16 felony charges.
In July, District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted six people, including a retired police inspector who was a friend of the mayor, for conspiring to funnel illegal campaign donations to his 2021 mayoral campaign.
Suggs did not return calls seeking comment. Kramer asked the mayor if he had spoken to Suggs after his return. His response was just three words: "No, I haven't."
