A dozen FBI agents entered to search at the official residence of New York City Mayor Eric Adams and confiscated his phone, hours before the indictment detailing the charges against him was announced today, Reuters and the Associated Press reported, as quoted by BTA.
"Federal agents showed up this morning at the "Gracie Mansion" in an attempt to put on a show and seize Mayor Adams' phone,'' Alex Spyro, Adams' attorney, said in a statement, adding that the mayor, who is a Democrat, had not been arrested.
Federal criminal charges have been filed against Adams by a grand jury, but their nature has not yet been made public, according to legal representatives. The AP notes that in a video message released last night, the New York mayor vowed to fight all charges against him, saying he had been made a "target" in a case "based on lies".
It is not yet clear what laws Adams has been charged with violating and when the mayor may have to appear in court.
The indictment, expected to be announced later today, will cap an unusual few weeks in New York as federal investigators targeted members of the city's mayor's inner circle, leading to a series of surprise raids , summons and resignations of high-ranking officials.
Federal prosecutors are believed to be pursuing multiple separate probes into campaign fundraising and possible influence peddling of police and fire departments into Adams and his top aides, as well as relatives of those aides in the city, notes the Associated Press.