F.B.I. agents seized Mayor Eric Adams’s electronic devices early this week in what appeared to be a dramatic escalation of a federal corruption investigation into whether his 2021 campaign conspired with the Turkish government and others to funnel money into its coffers, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The agents approached the mayor on the street on Monday and asked his security detail to step away, one of the people said. They climbed into his S.U.V. with him and, pursuant to a court-authorized warrant, took his devices, the person said. The devices — at least two cellphones and an iPad — were returned to the mayor within a matter of days, the people said. Law enforcement investigators with a search warrant can make copies of the data on devices after they seize them.
As with any leak like this, you first have to ask yourself why we are finding out about this. Obviously, it would not behoove Adams or his associates to put this out there. That points to the FBI once again leaking like a sieve, and speculation as to why is now running rampant.
Some are suggesting that Adams is being targeted because of his outspoken opposition to the Biden administration’s immigration policies. New York City has seen a large influx of illegal immigrants as a result of the overwhelmed Southern Border, a situation largely caused by the current president. While some of those people have arrived at the behest of governors like Greg Abbott, many of them have actually been transported to New York City by the federal government.
In September, Adams gave a speech in which he suggested that New York City would collapse if illegal immigration wasn’t curtailed.
To be clear, none of this means that Adams is being framed. If I were having to place my bets, I’d bet that his chief fundraiser did illegally raise money and that the mayor had some involvement. That’s not the point some are making when they question whether this was payback from the Biden administration. What’s being questioned is whether this investigation ever would have seen the light of day had Adams not so visibly opposed the White House on one of its key political vulnerabilities.
Certainly, it seems like only Democrats who cross the regime end up in these positions, and given the long-running corruption of the FBI, suspicions are warranted.