Nearly a year after investigators in the historic corruption case against the mayor seized his cell phone, federal agents still have not been able to break into Eric Adams' locked personal cell phone. was revealed on Wednesday.
Prosecutor Hagan Scotten said at a hearing in Manhattan federal court that the government's trouble getting into Adams' cellphone was a “significant wildcard” in the case.
The shocking revelation adds another wrinkle to one of the most bizarre accusations detailed in the historic 57-page indictment against Adams. It turns out that the mayor had probably conveniently “forgotten” the password to the device.
The mayor's memory loss occurred just one day after federal agents dramatically stopped him on the street in November 2023 and took two more cellphones, according to court documents.
Mr. Adams did not have a personal cell phone with him, so he turned it over to federal authorities the next day after learning of the investigation to prevent officials from accidentally or intentionally deleting the phone's contents. He claimed to have changed his password.
“According to Adams, he wanted to preserve the contents of his cell phone for investigation purposes,” the indictment states.
“However, Adams further claimed that he was unable to provide the FBI with the password to unlock the phone because he forgot the password he had just set,” court documents state.
Federal authorities characterized Mr. Adams' last-minute password change and apparent memory loss as a dubious attempt to cover up his alleged crimes.
After the indictment was revealed, experts told the Post that it could be “extremely difficult” for federal authorities to break into cellphones, which are password-locked and likely encrypted. He said it was sexual.
Scotten's statement confirmed that federal authorities have been having trouble cracking the phones for nearly 11 months.
