Numerous documents in now-dismissed Eric Adams corruption case unsealed
A cache of documents in the now-dismissed Eric Adams corruption case was unsealed Friday evening.
The documents come after the New York Times filed a motion for release of the material, which neither prosecutors or the defense opposed.
The documents requested include search warrants and accompanying affidavits, indexes accompanying discovery productions to the defense, an application for a warrant for location data for Adams's cell phone, and more.
Asked for comment on the new documents, Adams' lawyer, Alex Spiro, criticized the now-ended prosecution.
"This case — the first of its kind airline upgrade 'corruption' case — should never have been brought in the first place and is now over," Spiro, said.
Investigation was ongoing days before case was dropped
Federal agents investigating Adams were still seizing phones and applying for search warrants days before Justice Department leaders ordered prosecutors to drop the corruption case, according to documents released Friday.
The trove of court records shows that even as Washington officials were backing away from the prosecution, investigators in Manhattan were moving forward.
The documents also confirm something prosecutors revealed previously: That a federal investigation into whether Adams took improper campaign contributions began in August of 2021, when the Democrat was still in his old job of Brooklyn borough president but was widely expected to win the mayor's race that fall.
Prosecutors were continuing to dig into Adams in the weeks before the case got halted, and former top federal prosecutor in Manhattan Danielle Sassoon has said they were on the verge of bringing additional charges against him for obstruction of justice.
On Feb. 7 a judge had signed off on an application to search a phone that an unidentified subject of the investigation had turned over in response to a subpoena. Weeks earlier, a judge had signed a warrant to search a home in Middletown, New York, in connection with a probe of alleged straw donations made to Adams' campaign in 2020. Around the same time, prosecutors requested a warrant to access location data for a mobile phone in that investigation. On Dec. 4, a judge had approved a request by federal investigators to search a home in Queens.
The unsealed documents also revealed that in May 2024, a magistrate judge signed off on a warrant to search the Fort Lee, New Jersey, condominium home of the mayor's longtime romantic partner, Tracey Collins, who formerly served as a senior official in the city's Department of Education.
The warrant application does not name Collins directly but identifies her as Adams' partner and says the mayor also sometimes uses the home. Agents wanted to do the search to get access to five iPhones as they looked into whether an official connected to the Turkish consulate sought help getting a child admitted to a highly sought-after public middle school.
Also included was the September 2024 application for a warrant to search Gracie Mansion, the mayor's official residence in Manhattan, providing photos of the building from multiple angles.
An affidavit from an FBI agent notes that location data for one of Adams' phones suggests he spends the "overnight hours" of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the residence "and occasionally does so on other days as well."
Adams' dismissed corruption case
Adams was accused of abusing his power by soliciting campaign donations from wealthy foreigners and corporations. In a 57-page indictment, Adams was accused of failing to disclose gifts he received worth more than $100,000, including luxury travel, in exchange for political favors. He was accused of pressuring FDNY to grant an approval to the Turkish consulate building in Manhattan despite concerns about fire safety. His campaign was also accused of using a "straw donor" scheme for contributions which enabled him to tap into millions of matching campaign funds.
The dismissal of the case led to the resignation of several federal prosecutors along with four New York City deputy mayors.
Adams called allegations of a quid pro quo with the Trump administration "silly."
Also Friday, Adams met with President Trump at the White House to discuss what he called key priorities for New York City.
