Eric Adams breaks silence on ‘Kickback’ investigation, says ‘I feel extremely comfortable’ after fundraising boss’s NYC home was raided by FBI for ‘money from the Turkish government’.
Eric Adams said Thursday night that he feels “extremely comfortable” with the way he and his campaign team are operating, even though the home of his main fundraiser was raided by the FBI.
According to one report, the raid was part of an investigation into an alleged bribery scheme involving the Turkish government and a Brooklyn construction company.
Brianna Suggs’ Brooklyn home was ransacked while he was on his way to meetings in Washington DC, forcing him to abruptly cancel and return to “take care of a matter.” The timing was deliberate, sources said.
Adams on Thursday did not directly reference the morning’s raid or discuss his work with Suggs, but said he would cooperate with the investigation.
But he told it ABC News: “I feel extremely comfortable with how I follow rules and procedures.”
“I set high standards for myself, I set high standards for my campaign and I set high standards for my staff at City Hall.”
“I understand that it is my responsibility to maintain a high standard and I will comply with any request that is made and I require my team to do the same.”
Agents searched the home of Brianna Suggs (left), a campaign consultant who helped Adams (right) raise $2.5 million for his 2025 election
The New York Times obtained a portion of the search warrant that revealed it was related to an investigation into Adams’ 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 newspaper said, and KSK employees donated nearly $14,000 to Adams’ 2021 campaign, according to campaign finance records.
Some of the agents present were from the public corruption department, the newspaper said.
The search warrant targeted the 25-year-old’s electronic devices, including cell phones, laptops and tablets.
Adams was on his way to D.C. for meetings to discuss the city’s refugee crisis when he learned of the raid.
He had filmed a video of himself on the plane on the way there this morning. He returned to New York City without explanation while other city mayors remained in D.C. for the talks. Adams has not yet commented on the raid.
The warrant was considered evidence of theft of federal funds and conspiracy to steal federal funds. wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy; and campaign contributions from foreigners and conspiracy to make such contributions, according to the New York Times.
Investigators were reportedly interested in whether the campaign benefited the construction company’s officials and employees, as well as Turkish officials.
Adams has bragged 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 has been as close to the country as he has been.
Vito Pitta, an attorney for Adams’ 2021 and 2025 campaigns, said: “The campaign has always held itself to the highest standards.”
“The campaign will of course comply with all requests where appropriate.”
Mr Pitta added: “Mayor Adams has not been contacted as part of this investigation.”
Neighbors tell DailyMail.com that agents arrived at 9 a.m. and came out with boxes.
Agents in FBI vests were among those removing boxes from the home
Agents are shown outside Suggs’ home in Crown Heights today after the raid
They described Suggs as coming from a “nice family.”
“I know the whole family are very good people.” They are a very good family.
“I saw the FBI on the block and it was scary, it was really scary,” said Christopher Kelly Burwell, 54.
With Suggs’ help, Adams has raised more than $2.5 million for his re-election campaign.
The couple has worked together since 2017, when she joined his Brooklyn Borough President’s office to work as an administrative intern.
Suggs was Adams’ fundraiser and logistics director for his successful 2021 mayoral campaign. She now works as a fundraiser for the Kings County Democratic County Committee.
Adams, known as the “party mayor,” has left a bitter taste in some people’s mouths because of his avid revelers and appearances at hotspots such as expensive members’ clubs.
In 2021, six people were charged with illegal donations to Adams’ first campaign.
Adams was scheduled to be in Washington DC today to meet with officials about the city’s migrant crisis. When news of the raid broke, he abruptly returned to NYC
The men included former police officers Adams worked with at the NYPD. They were accused of using false names to conceal their donations.
Prosecutors claimed they wanted to influence the mayor’s office and potentially win city contracts.
Adams came clean — prosecutors said he had no knowledge of the plan. It is unclear whether today’s raid was related to these earlier allegations.
Earlier this year, Suggs was criticized for accepting donations to Adams’ re-election campaign while 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 a pay-for-play policy.
“The reason I think it should be illegal is because when you work for a campaign, they are close to you, and then that person does the same lobbying.” [official] She’s raising money for it, she’s going to get preferential treatment… and that means her customer is going to get preferential treatment.
“It just doesn’t look good.” “It doesn’t pass the smell test,” said Betsy Gotbaum, a city government veteran The New York Daily News In April.
A recent report from The city also claims Adams’ 2021 campaign repeatedly ignored requests to name donors who gave more than $300,000.
Their donations, divided among 500 donors, took advantage of a city donation matching program that boosts payments.