Federal authorities are still investigating his deal with him months after five corruption charges by federal prosecutors in Manhattan against New York Mayor Eric Adams.
They obtained a new warrant that authorized them to search for phone calls from people they believed there was evidence of fraud and federal programs, bribing them in connection with Mr. Adams' 2021 and 2025 mayoral campaigns.
Three days later, on February 10, the Trump administration ordered them to abandon the case.
The warrant is one of dozens of arrest warrants signed by a federal judge in nearly four years of bribery and fraud inquiries against Mr. Adams, and released about 1,700 pages of records late Friday in response to requests from the New York Times and the New York Times and the New York Post.
Judge Dale E. Ho approved the government's request to dismiss the allegations against Mr. Adams last month. Critics say Mr. Adams and the Trump administration have engaged in corruption lawsuits and have dismissed the case to help combat illegal immigration. Mr. Adams insisted that nothing was done wrong and suggested that God use the Trump administration to correct serious injustice.
His attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a statement Friday that the case “should never be brought first and is now over.” A spokesman for the Manhattan federal attorney’s office declined to comment.
Documents generated during the prolonged investigation of Mr. Adams, including search warrants, oath statements by FBI agents and other materials, set out to clarify the critical moments of the first prosecution in modern New York City history, even if they represent only a small portion of the warrants and other materials generated by the case.
They provided a rough sketch of a survey that began in August 2021 with a focus on the mayor’s fundraising campaign and his connections to the Turkish government. The names of most people who were struggling during the inquiry were edited, including those who searched for the phone in February, and most of the documents that have been publicly disclosed in the documents.
Nevertheless, some records contain details that have not been known before.
A federal agent had considered trying to grab the mayor's electronics at the finish line of the New York City marathon on November 5, 2023, an affidavit suggested. Instead, they grabbed the devices the next night outside the event in Greenwich Village, and after telling him about the safety details.
But after they did so, FBI agents wrote in another affidavit that it seemed that Mr. Adams had been searched only a few days ago, and that his main fundraiser's home was searched – trying to stop their efforts to obtain his personal cell phone.
When the agents arrived, Mr. Adams had no equipment. He said he had changed his password to prevent the assistant from bursting out while searching for the fundraiser's house, and then he forgot his new number.
Mr Adams said he wanted an assistant to take the phone to the Apple store and then leave it at Town Hall after locking himself, but location data suggest it is actually on the market.
The broker asked for more data, and if proven, the mayor's “obstructing behavior and misrepresentation would be strong evidence of Adams' awareness of inner gui”.
(A subsequent document says Mr. Adams' attorney later modified his account, saying an assistant took the phone out of Town Hall without his knowledge.)
Another document says the mayor is investigating witness tampering, a crime he has never been charged. According to the documents in the case, this was linked to the mayor's aide urging an aide to urge an Uzbekistan businessman and his employees to lie to the FBI about the so-called scarecrow program that benefits Mr. Adams.
FBI agents said in submission that Uzbekistan businessman reported that Mr Adams told his aide that the businessman was “nervous” – clenching his fists to stress and would not talk to the authorities. The businessmen did eventually cooperate.
Mr. Adams was indicted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan in September, which included solicitation of bribery, wire fraud and illegal foreign donations.
In the days that followed, prosecutors outlined some of the evidence they handed over to defense attorneys and noted that nearly 40 search warrants were signed during the investigation. They also cite data from 21 communication devices and accounts, noting that this is only one-third of 60 to 70 devices and accounts that will be flipped later.
They also reversed more than 300,000 pages of investigators obtained by subpoena and obtained 4,000 records from the City Hall. To sum up, the material totals 1.6 trabytes data.
The indictment, and the accompanying of an irrelevant investigation into Mr. Adams' inner circle, subverted his administration and weakened his already anemia poll.
Mr. Adams has always adhered to his innocence and started a long courtship by Donald J. Trump.
In February, Emil Bove III, the second Justice Department official, directed interim U.S. attorneys in Manhattan to seek to dismiss the case, believing the indictment was interfering with the mayor and President Trump's ability to oust the expulsion agenda and risk interfering with the upcoming election.
Interim U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Washington, DC and several other department officials in Manhattan also resigned.
When Justice Ho finally dismissed the allegations against Mr. Adams, he wrote in his decision that he did not do so because he believed they lacked merit, but because the Constitution gave the power to prosecute federal criminal cases, or among executive officers of the Department of Justice, where as a judge, he had limited power over the case.
Still, he criticized the government's obvious motivation: extracting Mr. Adams' assistance to promote Mr. Trump's campaign against illegal immigration.
Judge Ho wrote: “Everything here is squashed in bargaining: fire the indictment in exchange for concessions in immigration policy.”
Mr. Adams visited the White House president before the release of documents on Friday, ostensibly discussing New York City’s issues.
Afterward, Mr. Trump told reporters that he thought Mr. Adams was “thank me”, apparently referring to the dismissal of the case, which they had discussed “little did not.”
