A grand jury is considering evidence in a federal corruption investigation into Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign fundraising, possibly with a view to issuing subpoenas in the case, people familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
The developments related to the FBI investigation into Adams’ 2021 campaign also came after sources revealed that someone with ties to the mayor recently received a subpoena related to the investigation.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
A spokesman for Adams would not confirm or deny the grand jury’s involvement in the federal investigation.
“City Hall has said from the outset that it would cooperate fully with this investigation and has cooperated by sending relevant personnel to discuss the details necessary to reach a fair and timely conclusion,” the spokesman said.
Sources told The Post that grand juries are routinely convened in high-level federal investigations like the one against Adams’ campaign.
Federal grand juries can issue indictments, but the grand juries being used in the investigation into the mayor’s campaign are more likely to be intended to issue subpoenas, the people said.
Adams has not been accused of wrongdoing, but his campaign has been under investigation since November, when federal prosecutors began looking into allegations that the Turkish government illegally diverted funds to the mayor’s campaign.
As part of the investigation, federal agents searched the homes of at least three members of Adams’ inner circle, including Cenk Ocar, a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on the mayor’s transition team, and City Hall aide Rana Abbasova.
The home of Brianna Suggs, Adams’ campaign fundraiser, was also searched.
According to the search warrant, authorities were looking for evidence of theft of federal funds, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit theft of federal funds and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
