Adams defends ‘basic duties’ as NYC federal probe expands

NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams insisted Sunday that he was carrying out his “basic duties as the borough president” amid new reports that federal authorities are probing whether his intervention helped get a Turkish consulate built despite safety concerns.

“What I’m really hoping is that these periodic leaks stop,” Adams told reporters as he left a morning memorial service in Queens. “We’re cooperating. We need to do this together so all the facts can come out.”

The leaks were reference to reporting by the New York Post and New York Times that the scope of a federal probe includes how Adams may have used his influence two years ago as Brooklyn borough president to smooth the path for a high-profile Turkish government project in Manhattan.

The Post reported that investigators are looking at text messages between Adams, the Turkish consul general and the then-city fire commissioner.

The Times reported that Adams’ alleged coaxing of the FDNY commissioner at the time, Daniel Nigro, led a $300 million, 35-floor consulate to rise in time for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğans September 2021 visit to New York City.

Last Monday, federal agents stopped Adams on the street, proffered a court-issued warrant and seized his phones and an iPad. The mayor complied and volunteered more electronic devices to investigations after the stop, a person close to the incident told POLITICO.

The surrender of the mayor’s devices — they were returned days later — came after federal agents raided his chief fundraiser’s Brooklyn home on Nov. 2.

The federal investigation, according to part of a warrant obtained by the Times, revolves, at least in part, around whether Adams’ 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign contributions into his coffers.

On Sunday, Adams referred reporters to the statement his representatives gave them about how the Turkish consulate came to be erected despite fire safety concerns.

“As a borough president, part of my routine role was to notify government agencies of issues on behalf of constituents and constituencies,” the mayor had said in the statement. “I have not been accused of wrongdoing, and I will continue to cooperate with investigators.”

Adams and his inner circle are stressing that he is fully working with investigators, saying his team singled out an unnamed person potentially at fault after an internal probe following the raid on fundraiser Brianna Suggs’ home.

“After learning of the federal investigation, it was discovered that an individual had recently acted improperly,” Adams’ private attorney Boyd Johnson said in a statement Friday. “In the spirit of transparency and cooperation, this behavior was immediately and proactively reported to investigators.”

The mayor’s Sunday schedule included a half-hour radio show he hosts on a semi-regular basis. Adams discussed veterans affairs on the show and interviewed a Purple Heart recipient. He took questions from callers but none pertained to the federal investigation.

He canceled a scheduled appearance to speak at a Brooklyn church.

Earlier in the day in Queens, he had told reporters who asked about the investigation casting a cloud over his campaign and mayoralty: “This is not the place to have this conversation.”