New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Friday denied any knowledge of illegal foreign fundraising in his campaign, which led to an FBI raid on a senior aide’s home on Thursday.
“I am outraged and angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign,” Adams said in a statement on Friday.
“I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity — and certainly not of any foreign money,” the mayor continued. “We will of course work with officials to respond to inquiries, as appropriate–as we always have.”
An attorney for his campaign, Vito Pitta, said they were reviewing “all documents and actions by campaign workers connected to the contributors in question.”
The raid is at the center of an investigation into Adams’ campaign alleging that it conspired with the Turkish government to receive donations from foreigners, which is illegal, according to The New York Times.
The warrant sought records related to contributions, travel to Turkey by people linked to the campaign and documents of interactions between the campaign and Turkey’s government, or people acting at its behest.
The warrant also sought information related to a Brooklyn company, KSK Construction Group, along with a small university in Washington, D.C., tied to the Turkish government, the Times reported.
There is no indication that the FBI raid and ongoing investigation are targeting the mayor, and he has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Just last week, Adams was touting his ties to Turkey.
He said there were probably no other mayor in New York City history that had visited Turkey as frequently as he has. Adams said he was on his “sixth or seventh visit,” the New York Daily News reported.