NYC Mayor Eric Adams’s legal defense fund raises over $650K amid campaign probe

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has raised more than $650,000 for his legal defense fund amid a corruption investigation into his campaign, the fund’s attorney confirmed Monday.

The Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust was launched by Adams in November in response to a federal probe looking into whether the mayor’s campaign conspired with the Turkish government for foreign donations.

Vito Pitta, an attorney for the fund, confirmed to The Hill that the fund raised more than $650,000 as of Dec. 31.

The fund allows Adams to raise money for legal fees without violating city laws on politicians receiving gifts. Adams can take donations of up to $5,000 for legal fees with the requirement that donors be disclosed to prevent future conflicts of interest. Subordinates are also prohibited from donating to the fund under certain regulations.

Pitta told The Hill the Defense Trust continued to raise money this month, bringing the total to an estimated $725,000 as of Monday. The fund is required to file a disclosure report of its first round of donations to New York City’s Conflict of Interest Board by Tuesday, though the additional funds raised this month will be included in the fund’s second quarterly filing due on April 15.

Adams’s mayoral campaign is accused of facilitating illegal donations from interests in Turkey and colluding with the Turkish government. The accusations were brought to the forefront in early November after federal agents raided the Brooklyn home of Brianna Suggs, a top fundraiser and friend of Adams.

Suggs served as the fundraiser for Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign and was appointed to head fundraising efforts for the city mayor. During the November raid of her home, FBI agents searched for financial records of Suggs and any entity controlled or associated with her, documents related to the mayor’s 2021 campaign, records of travel to Turkey by any employee to Turkey and documents connected to the interactions between the campaign and the Middle Eastern country.

The FBI also seized the mayor’s electronic devices, including at least two cellphones and an iPad, as part of the investigation.

Adams has denied responsibility or knowledge of the alleged Turkish donations and has repeatedly noted he has not been directly accused of wrongdoing. At the time the allegations surfaced last fall, Adams said he would be angry if “anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign.”

“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 said last November. “We will of course work with officials to respond to inquiries, as appropriate–as we always have.”