Feds Seize NYC Mayor's Phones, Suspect That Adams Fast-Tracked a Turkish Diplomatic Mission In Exchange for Cash

The FBI is Seizing on texts that indicate that Adams did favors for foreign cash.

There's less to this story than the headline, to be honest. The texts don't establish much. There's a suspicion that Turks contributed to Eric Adams illegally but we don't know for certain he did favors in exchange for that money.

Federal investigators probing Mayor Adams' 2021 campaign are now zeroing in on a series of texts suggesting he helped fast-track the opening of the Turkish government's new diplomatic headquarters in Manhattan, sources close to the case told The Post.

The September 2021 texts between Adams -- who was then the Brooklyn borough president and Democratic mayoral nominee -- and Turkish Consul General Reyhan Özgür and then-FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro were uncovered by FBI agents Monday after they seized Adams' electronic devices.

The texts were described by sources to The Post.

Since Monday, the feds' questions about the content on the devices -- which included three cellphones and two iPads -- have centered on these texts, sources said.

However, the messages don't appear to show any criminal activity beyond typical outreach that elected officials do on behalf of constituents, according to several sources briefed on the matter.

In a Sept. 5, 2021, text, Özgür informed Adams that construction was recently completed on the new Turkevi Center diplomatic headquarters, located on 46th Street and First Avenue across the street from the United Nations building, sources said.

However, Özgür noted that while the new HQ received needed approvals from the city Buildings Department to operate, it still had to secure a "temporary certificate of occupancy" from the Fire Department. He then asked Adams if he knew Nigro and could help.

Adams, according to sources, reached out to Nigro and asked him to look into the matter, but didn't order him to do anything.

The Turkevi Center -- the new home of the Consulate General of Turkey in New York City -- is now a focus of a federal investigation into Mayor Eric Adam's fundraising in 2021 based on new texts that have surfaced, sources said. Facebook Turkish Consulate General in New York

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Federal authorities are investigating whether the Turkish government or Turkish citizens illegally funneled donations to Adams' campaign by using "straw donors," a scheme where contributors listed in official records aren't the actual source of funding and whether Adams did quid-pro-quo favors.

The investigators were specifically looking for proof that the campaign kicked back benefits to leaders and staffers at Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group and Turkish officials.

Maybe this is just Merrick Garland's weaponized DOJ warning another political rival -- Adams has been loud about Biden's border crisis -- to get in line.

Say, FBI, you've had an entire computer in your possession since 2019 containing messages that indicate that the current US president took foreign cash for favors. Maybe look into that slightly more than not at all?

posted by Disinformation Expert Ace at 12:33 PM

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