Federal authorities have conducted searches at the residences of two top aides to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, escalating their investigation into his administration.
On Wednesday, agents raided the Manhattan home of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and the Queens residence of Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks. Banks’ brother, David Banks, is the city’s schools chancellor, and Wright is his romantic partner.
This marks the highest-profile involvement in the federal probe to date, following previous searches of at least three other aides’ homes since last November.
The investigation is partly focused on whether the mayor’s 2021 campaign had improper connections with foreign entities, including Turkey.
Mayor Adams, who was subpoenaed in July and had his electronic devices seized (and later returned) last November, has stated that he is cooperating with the investigation and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The mayor’s office and campaign were also subpoenaed in July, and evidence was previously collected from other aides’ homes, including top fundraiser Brianna Suggs and international affairs aide Rana Abbasova.
Additionally, in February, the home of special adviser and director of Asian affairs Winnie Greco was searched.
