Suspended Eric Adams Aide Ordered Staffers to Delete Text Messages After Shocking FBI Raid: Report
An aide to NYC Mayor Eric Adams allegedly ordered City Hall staffers to delete certain text messages.
Nov. 21 2023, Published 2:17 p.m. ET
A newly suspended aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams allegedly ordered staffers to delete certain text message from their phones after the FBI raided her home this month, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In the latest development to come after the FBI raided the homes of two Adams aides on November 2, it was revealed that aide Rana Abbasova allegedly told City Hall staffers to delete certain conversation from their personal devices.
Adams aide Rana Abbasova was suspended from her role in the Office for International Affairs.
Abbasova, who serves as the director of protocol in the Office for International Affairs, was promptly suspended from her role this week after lawyers for Mayor Adams learned of her suspected efforts to wipe the texts.
This development comes after it was revealed that the NYC mayor’s 2021 campaign is under federal investigation.
The probe reportedly focuses on the mayor’s 2021 campaign fundraising and alleged ties to the Turkish government.
The revelation that Abbasova allegedly deleted messages from her phone prompted federal investigators to obtain a court warrant to retrieve Adams' own mobile devices to determine if he had received any messages from the aide.
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However, source familiar with the ongoing probe confirmed to the New York Post that the mayor did not receive any suspicious messages from Abbasova.
One source emphasized that the communications between Adams and Abbasova were deemed "benign" and not central to the federal investigation.
The mayor's lawyers also allegedly reported the matter to investigators immediately.
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, part of the ongoing federal investigation against Adams is centered around whether the mayor’s 2021 campaign team conspired with the Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group and the Turkish government to illegally funnel foreign cash into his campaign coffers using "straw donors" in exchange for favors.
The FBI seized Adams' devices after learning that Abbasova ordered staffers to delete certain messages.
Neither Adams nor his 2021 campaign team have been accused of any wrongdoing in the probe so far.
The FBI raided the homes of Abbasova – who hails from Azerbaijan – and Cenk Ocal – a former Turkish Airlines executive who worked on Adams' transition team – last week.
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Abbasova's suspension came after a City Hall review concluded that she had acted improperly, although it was not immediately clear what specific action led to her suspension.
The FBI's raid on her home shed light on the alleged attempts to delete text exchanges.
Neither Adams nor his 2021 campaign team have been accused of any wrongdoing in the probe so far.
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Brianna Suggs, a campaign consultant and lobbyist for the mayor, also had her home raided by the FBI on November 2nd.
As RadarOnline.com reported at the time, Adams was forced to cut a series of White House immigration meetings short to return to NYC to respond to the raid on Suggs’ home.
“I am outraged and angry if anyone attempted to use the campaign to manipulate our democracy and defraud our campaign,” Adams said in a statement after the raid on November 2.
“I want to be clear, I have no knowledge, direct or otherwise, of any improper fundraising activity — and certainly not of any foreign money,” he added at the time.
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