Trove of documents unsealed in NYC mayor's criminal case offers a
glimpse of thwarted investigation
[May 10, 2025]
By JAKE OFFENHARTZ and MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal agents investigating New York City Mayor Eric
Adams were still seizing phones and applying for search warrants days
before Justice Department leaders ordered prosecutors to drop the
corruption case, according to documents released Friday.
The trove of court records, which had been sealed, opens a window into
the criminal case and shows that even as Washington officials were
backing away from the prosecution, investigators in Manhattan were
moving forward.
The documents also confirm something prosecutors revealed previously:
That a federal investigation into whether Adams took improper campaign
contributions began in August of 2021, when the Democrat was still in
his old job of Brooklyn borough president but was widely expected to win
the mayor's race that fall.
Adams has repeatedly said he believed he was prosecuted because, much
later, as mayor, he criticized former President Joe Biden's immigration
policies.
The investigation first spilled into public view in November 2023, when
FBI agents seized Adams’ phones and iPad as he was leaving an event in
Manhattan. He was charged 10 months later with accepting free travel and
illegal campaign contributions from people seeking to buy his influence,
including a Turkish diplomat.
But on Feb. 10, weeks after President Donald Trump took office, the new
leadership of the Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors in New
York to drop the charges, arguing the case was hindering the mayor's
ability to assist in the Republican administration’s immigration
crackdown.
The extraordinary directive roiled federal prosecutors’ offices in
Manhattan and Washington. Rather than implement the order, multiple
prosecutors resigned, including the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan,
Danielle Sassoon. A judge ultimately said he legally had no choice but
to dismiss the case at the request of senior Justice Department
officials.
Prosecutors were continuing to dig into Adams in the weeks before the
case got halted, and Sassoon has said they were on the verge of bringing
additional charges against him for obstruction of justice.
On Feb. 7 a judge had signed off on an application to search a phone
that an unidentified subject of the investigation had turned over in
response to a subpoena. Weeks earlier, a judge had signed a warrant to
search a home in Middletown, New York, in connection with a probe of
alleged straw donations made to Adams' campaign in 2020. Around the same
time, prosecutors requested a warrant to access location data for a
mobile phone in that investigation. On Dec. 4, a judge had approved a
request by federal investigators to search a home in Queens.
Searches and seizures
U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho ordered the records unsealed at the
request of The New York Times and, later, the New York Post. The Times
argued in court papers that there was a “particularly compelling” case
for making them public because there would be no trial. Neither Adams’
lawyers, nor prosecutors opposed the request.
[to top of second column]
|
The documents offer a behind-the-scenes look at how investigators
pieced their case together through searches of electronics and
physical locations around New York and beyond.
The unsealed documents also revealed that in May 2024, a magistrate
judge signed off on a warrant to search the Fort Lee, New Jersey,
condominium home of the mayor's longtime romantic partner, Tracey
Collins, who formerly served as a senior official in the city’s
Department of Education.
The warrant application does not name Collins directly but
identifies her as Adams' partner and says the mayor also sometimes
uses the home. Agents wanted to do the search to get access to five
iPhones as they looked into whether an official connected to the
Turkish consulate sought help getting a child admitted to a highly
sought-after public middle school.
Also included was the September 2024 application for a warrant to
search Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s official residence in Manhattan,
providing photos of the building from multiple angles.
An affidavit from an FBI agent notes that location data for one of
Adams’ phones suggests he spends the “overnight hours” of Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday at the residence “and occasionally does so on
other days as well.”
Adams meets with Trump
Asked for comment on the new documents, Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro,
criticized the now-ended prosecution.
“This case — the first of its kind airline upgrade ‘corruption’ case
— should never have been brought in the first place and is now
over,” Spiro, said.
Adams has touted the dismissal of the case as a vindication, while
denying that he cut a deal with Trump in exchange for leniency. But
he has maintained a warm relationship with the president after his
case was dismissed. The two leaders met in Washington on Friday,
with Trump later telling reporters that “I think he actually came in
to thank me.”
Adams’ office released a statement that said they discussed
“critical infrastructure projects, as well as the preservation of
essential social services, among other topics.”
Even with the criminal charges behind him, Adams faces an uncertain
political future. He recently announced that he would skip the
Democratic primary in June and instead run as an independent in the
November general election.
___
Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Anthony Izaguirre, Ruth
Brown, Philip Marcelo, David B. Caruso and Larry Neumeister
contributed to this report.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
