The chief fundraiser for New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign had her home raided by the FBI last week, with officials reportedly seizing multiple laptops, iPhones, and a manilla envelope labeled “Eric Adams.”
Adams (D) was on his way to a meeting with administration officials to discuss the illegal immigrant crisis plaguing his city when he heard the news that Brianna Suggs’ home had been raided.
Adams promptly canceled the meetings he’d scheduled with members of Congress and returned to the city upon hearing the news.
Suggs is one of Adams’ top aides and a trusted confidante, according to the New York Times.
The outlet reports that the focus of the investigation revolves around whether his campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations.
RELATED: NYC Mayor Complains The City At ‘Breaking Point’ Due To Illegal Immigration
Adams Distances Himself From FBI Raid On Top Aide’s Home
While Adams himself is not accused of any wrongdoing, the raid on his top fundraiser gets him perilously close to having his own political troubles.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied knowing of any questionable fundraising activities in the wake of his top campaign fundraiser’s home being raided by FBI agents. https://t.co/LQk01Wy6As pic.twitter.com/DRYTjt0oA7
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 6, 2023
Still, the Democrat mayor issued a statement distancing himself from the allegations facing Suggs.
“I am outraged and angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign,” he 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,” he added. “We will of course work with officials to respond to inquiries, as appropriate – as we always have.”
RELATED: Governor Kathy Hochul To Illegal Immigrants: New York Is ‘Out Of Space’
Adams Has Been A Top Democrat Critic Of Biden’s Border Crisis
While at one point Adams was a major champion of sanctuary city policies, even insisting that he would keep New York City as such if elected mayor, some critics have suggested reality changed his tune on the matter.
“We need an emergency declaration, we need to be properly funded, we need a decompression strategy not only in the city but throughout the state,” he said at the time. “This is just wrong.”
As his city continued to struggle with the illegal immigrant influx into October, Adams upped the pressure on President Biden.
“We can’t sit back and just, you know, continue to expect that [we are] going to get the relief that we deserve,” he insisted. “We want help from the federal government.”
Adams has warned that the Biden border crisis and illegal immigrants showing up on his doorstep were going to “destroy” his city.
Joe Biden is in New York City for a fundraiser tonight.
Earlier this month, Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Biden’s border crisis “will destroy New York City.”pic.twitter.com/8FESjGoPdC
— GOP (@GOP) September 18, 2023
Suggs boasts on her LinkedIn page that she helped raise $18 million for Adams’ 2021 campaign and an additional $2.5 million already for 2025, fundraising numbers meant to keep others from mounting their own campaign against him.
The New York Times notes Adams has “faced ethics issues for years” and has “ties to people with troubling pasts.