The FBI carried out raids on Thursday targeting two top aides to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This follows the recent arrest of a top aide, Linda Sun, to New York Governor Kathy Hochul on charges of allegedly acting as an agent for the Chinese Communist Party.
The FBI raided the homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who is engaged to Schools Chancellor David Banks, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, according to sources cited by ABC News.
Mayor Adams’ chief counsel, Lisa Zornberg, commented on the raids, saying, “Investigators have not indicated to us that the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation.”
Zornberg added, “As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.” The FBI and the Southern District of New York declined to comment on the raids. During the searches, the FBI seized electronic devices as part of their investigation, sources told ABC News. No charges have been filed so far.
A source familiar with the situation told ABC News that the searches do not seem to be connected to an ongoing investigation into whether Mayor Adams received donations from Turkish sources in exchange for political favors. Federal agents have previously raided the homes of several individuals linked to Adams.
Last year, FBI agents also searched the home of Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and top fundraiser for Eric Adams, in connection with the allegations about donations from Turkey.
At that time, a search warrant indicated that investigators were looking for evidence to support potential charges, including the theft of federal funds, conspiracy to steal federal funds, wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy, and campaign contributions by foreign nationals and conspiracy to make such contributions.