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New York City Mayor Eric Adams is addressing reports that the FBI is investigating his role in the new Turkish consulate building project after agents seized his electronic devices last week, per NBC News.
The reports stem from the 2021 mayoral campaign of Adams, previously Brooklyn's borough president. According to the New York Times, Adams reached out to Daniel Nigro, then NYC's fire commissioner, nudging him to let Turkish officials use a building that hadn't opened yet because fire department officials had declined to sign off on the safety of its occupancy.
On Sunday (November 12), Adams defended his actions, saying it was his job as Brooklyn's borough president to “notify government agencies of issues on behalf of constituents and constituencies.”
“I have not been accused of wrongdoing and I will continue to cooperate with investigators,” Adams said in a statement.
The reports come amid the ongoing investigation into Adams' campaign fundraising, which led FBI agents to seize multiple electronic devices from Adams at an event last week.
Adams' attorney, Boyd Johnson, said the mayor willing handed over his devices after learning "an individual had recently acted improperly." Adams has said he has "nothing to hide" and would be "shocked" if investigators found his campaign responsible for coordinated illegal behavior.
In text exchanges between Adams and Nigro and Turkish Consul General Reyhan Özgür from September 2021, Özgür reportedly asked Adams if he could help him get a “temporary certificate of occupancy” from the city’s fire department for the new consulate building. Adams allegedly then told Nigro to look into it but didn't instruct him to do anything in particular.
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