New York City Mayor Eric Adams denied any involvement in illegal political fundraising Friday, but his campaign pledged it would review its books, a day after federal agents raided the home of one of the Democrat's chief fundraisers.
“I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity — and certainly not of any foreign money,” Adams said.
The warrant also sought information related to a Brooklyn company, KSK Construction Group, along with a small university in Washington, D.C., tied to the Turkish government.
Adams has touted his connections to Turkey, a country that he visited at least half a dozen times as a state senator and Brooklyn borough president. Returning from a 2015 trip, he said he had helped further relations “on commerce, culture, and safety.”
In September, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Eric Ulrich, once the city’s top building-safety official under Adams, with accepting bribes in exchange for political favors, such as speeding up the inspection of a pizzeria or attempting to vacate a low-income apartment at the request of a luxury developer.
His arrest came just two months after Manhattan prosecutors brought charges against six others in an alleged straw donor conspiracy to divert tens of thousands of dollars to Adams’ mayoral campaign in the months before his election. Four construction officials were charged in the scheme, as was a former NYPD commander who had known the mayor for decades.
Adams has not been directly implicated in either of those cases. But political observers say the latest federal investigation focused on the top ranks of his fundraising team may be more difficult to brush off.
