BY: JAEQWON SUAREZ / DEPUTY ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
The top fundraiser for Eric Adams, Brianna Suggs, had her house raided on Nov. 2, 2023. This happened as Adams was getting ready for meetings in the Capitol with Denver and Chicago’s mayor to meet other White House officials.
However, he had to cancel all his meetings and return to New York due to an urgent situation regarding Suggs. Her Crown Heights apartment was raided after a corrupt investigation found Mayor Adam's funds to be from the Turkish government.
Suggs is Adam’s fundraising operator, so she would be deeply entwined with the allegations. The search warrant also focused on the mayor’s campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company, as stated in the New York Times article.
Adams was shocked to hear these reports on his illegal funds and donations and held two speaking events on the same day.
“We carry a very strict review to do the best we can and make sure that we are having those dollars that are coming in that are appropriate,” he said. “We turn down a lot of money, we send it back, we don’t believe it’s correct, so we adhere to a very strict policy in our campaign… probably one of the strictest reviews.” These statements came from the city’s article.
He also expressed his anger about the entire investigation around him and Suggs. He stated to the Amny, “I am outraged and angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign. I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity — and certainly not of any foreign money.”
The investigation not only tied Adams to Turkey, but it also investigated a small university in Washington D.C., as well as the Brooklyn construction company ties to Turkey. However, Adams also stated that he was not familiar with the Brooklyn construction company.
“I cannot tell you … how many thousands of people contribute to our campaign,” Adams said during an interview on Nov. 3, 2023. “I attend so many fundraisers and meet so many different people throughout the part of raising funds. I am not familiar with this organization at all. It’s one of the many different groups and organizations that contributes to the campaign.”
Adams has yet to speak to Suggs as of this moment since the raid, but he claims that he will fully participate in any inquiries that the FBI has for him regarding his connection to the Turkish government. Suggs has only been in communications with his campaign attorney.
Adam is not worried in the slightest about the integrity of his campaign or Suggs. He stated to Dan Mannarino, an interviewer who works with PIX11, that “I have full confidence in her. She has done an amazing job and … I would love to have her continue to stay with the campaign team.”
Suggs was questioned as the raid on her house continued that morning in search of financial records and campaign financial documents. She was subpoenaed to testify in front of the grand jury in Manhattan.
Since then, Adam has been defending Suggs’s character in interviews and at speaking events. “[She’s] a very bright, energetic, smart young lady who worked hard,” Adams states in the interview. “She led the fundraising numbers when you looked at throughout the entire campaign. And I feel confidence in her integrity and how hard she works … And she stood up from [being an] intern, became a good staffer, and ran our entire fundraising apparatus in this previous campaign and this one as well.”