Federal agents early Thursday swept in to search the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams, a stunning and aggressive move that capped a lengthy corruption investigation into whether the mayor conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign money into his campaign coffers.
The search at Gracie Mansion on the Upper East Side began about 6 a.m., just hours before the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and officials from the F.B.I. and the city’s Department of Investigation were expected to announce federal charges against Mr. Adams.
A group of roughly a dozen men and women in business attire arrived outside the entrance to Gracie Mansion in S.U.V.s, at least one of which had a federal law enforcement parking placard on its dashboard. Several carried briefcases, backpacks or duffel bags as they entered the grounds, and one had what appeared to be a camera bag.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that a federal grand jury had handed up an indictment of Mr. Adams. The precise charges have not been made public, but when they are announced, Mr. Adams, a Democrat, will become the first New York City mayor in modern history to face a federal charge while in office.
The search and indictment cast a pall over the already embattled administration of Mr. Adams, which has been rocked by four separate federal investigations and the subsequent resignations of four high-level appointees. In recent weeks, the mayor has lost his chief counsel and his police commissioner. His education chancellor and health commissioner have announced their intentions to resign, as well.
A growing number of critics called for his the mayor to resign after the news of his indictment was reported on Wednesday.
But in a taped video released on Wednesday night, Mr. Adams said that any federal charges against him were “based on lies.”
“If I am charged, I know I am innocent,” he said. “I will request an immediate trial so that New Yorkers can hear the truth.”
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