On Tuesday, New York Mayor Eric Adams admitted to contacting the FDNY commissioner during the summer of 2021, as the FBI’s investigation into alleged corruption heats up.
Here's what you need to know about the investigation into Eric Adams' campaign https://t.co/bUNQ6ter2G
— TIME (@TIME) November 14, 2023
Taking questions during a media availability session, Adams again stressed that he has not been accused of wrongdoing and is cooperating with federal authorities.
Eric Adams’ office counsel maintained there’s no proof the feds are looking at the mayor himself, but refused to answer if any other City Hall staff have had their phones seized.https://t.co/eNri3CI6sW
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) November 14, 2023
Adams admitted he contacted then-Fire Department of New York Commissioner Daniel Nigro in the summer of 2021 regarding the opening of a Manhattan skyrise that now houses the Turkish consulate.
But he insisted his actions followed the law.
From Fox News:
“This is what we do every day. You know, you reach out to an agency and ask them to look into a matter. You don’t reach out to an agency to compel them to do anything because I had no authority to do so. I was the borough president,” Adams said Tuesday. At the time of the communication, he had recently won the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary.
“And so, yes, we reached out because our constituency had the largest Turkish population outside of Paterson, New Jersey, in this country. I believe it was in Brooklyn as the Brooklyn borough president. And we reached out to the commissioner to assist, to find out what was happening and ask him to look at that,” Adams said.
City Hall NYC.
During a briefing. The NYC Mayor Eric Adams comments on the federal case and said. It's his job as a Borough President to help his Consentuance, and all politicians do the same when there is a problem , he did reach out to someone in the FDNY because that's his… pic.twitter.com/2xgXJ0oGuI— Viral News NYC (@ViralNewsNYC) November 14, 2023
“And we’re talking about Commissioner Nigro… over 50 years of being a firefighter, a 9/11 hero. He is an optimum professional, and I’m sure he’s going to, you know, take the necessary questions. And if he was able to do something, he would. And if he couldn’t, he’d say that he couldn’t.”
The public admission came after the New York Times first reported Sunday that the FBI was probing Adams for allegedly pressuring FDNY officials to open the building before Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited New York City to attend the United Nations General Assembly, despite safety concerns about the structure.
Federal authorities have not publicly disclosed the nature of the FBI’s probe into New York City politics, and City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg told reporters on Tuesday, “my expectation is that any improper leaks by federal law enforcement officers will be fully investigated by federal law enforcement.”
