Embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams’ city attorney asserted Tuesday that she has not seen any proof the federal investigation looming over the Democrat’s campaign has anything to do with Adams himself—even as she and her boss refused to answer questions about whether anybody else at City Hall has surrendered their phones to the FBI.
City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg’s remarks came at Adams’ weekly press briefing, where the mayor and his team faced a barrage of questions over the Department of Justice’s raid on the home of the mayor’s top campaign fundraiser earlier this month, and reports that federal agents had flashed a warrant to Adams and temporarily confiscated his electronic devices in a curbside encounter last week. Adams himself did not directly answer a question as to whether that warrant identified him or another party as the investigation’s target.
Zornberg, however, stepped in and insisted that her information to date is that he is not.
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“There has been no indication that I’ve seen that the mayor is a target,” the lawyer said.
Neither Adams nor Zornberg would say whether any other campaign or government personnel had as yet turned over phones or other gadgets to the feds, maintaining only that the entire team had cooperated with investigators and that it would be inappropriate to divulge further details.
Zornberg also took a thinly veiled swipe at the repeated leaks from parties familiar with the FBI’s aims to the press, which have revealed that the probe presently centers around a potential straw donor scheme involving a Turkish-American construction interest and building permits for a new Turkish consular compound in Manhattan.
“I can guarantee you that the U.S. Attorney’s office does not want their investigation playing out in the press in dribs and drabs and through leaks,” noting she had personally served two stints in the Justice Department’s Southern District Office. “My expectation is that any improper leaks by federal law enforcement officers will be fully investigated by federal law enforcement.”
Adams similarly would not reveal whether he had retained his personal attorney before or after the FBI had taken possession of his cell and tablet. Nor would he provide the name of the campaign staffer that the attorney said had “acted improperly.”
Adams did, however, confirm that he had reached out to the former Fire Department commissioner shortly before entering office regarding a certificate of occupancy for Ankara’s new facility in Manhattan. He argued this was appropriate, given his prior role as borough president of Brooklyn, which has a large Turkish immigrant population.
The mayor laughed off queries about whether he would resign if indicted.
“I’m not speculating on that. You’re all the way downfield,” said Adams, who denied any wrongdoing. “We don’t do the straw donors, we don’t do quid quo pro. We follow the law.”
