An aide to New York City Mayor Eric Adams was apparently suspended after it was discovered she told City Hall staff members to delete text messages after federal authorities raided her home.
The New York Post reported that Rana Abbasova, formerly the director of protocol in the Office for International Affairs, was suspended from her post after Adams’ lawyers found that she had tried to get various text messages erased. The development comes amid an investigation into fundraising irregularities during Adams’ 2021 campaign.
As part of the investigation, federal investigators recently obtained a warrant to retrieve Adams’ electronic devices to see if he had received any messages from Abbasova. However, it does not appear that investigators found any incriminating messages between the two. One source said that the communications between Adams and Abbasova were arbitrary and not relevant to the nature of the investigation.
The NY Daily News reported that Abbasova had been working with Adams since his time as Brooklyn borough president. Before she was suspended from her current post, she was apparently tasked with “vetting foreign delegations, organizing meetings with foreign delegations for the mayor and [International Affairs Commissioner Ed Mermelstein], and creating events for foreign dignitaries.”
It is not clear what role Abbasova might have played in Adams’ 2021 political campaign.
The fundamental issue underlying the investigation is whether Adams’ political campaign was involved in any dealings with the Turkish government, including foreign donations and whether the mayor had pushed the New York City Fire Department to issue permits for a Turkish consulate that had previously been turned down after failing a safety inspection.
The authorities have also looked into whether Adams’ campaign conspired with the Turkish government and received foreign donations. One business that has been called into question is Brooklyn-based KSK Construction Group, which apparently has ties to a Turkish hotel chain.
Earlier this month, Adams’ top campaign fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, had her Brooklyn home searched by federal investigators. According to her LinkedIn profile, she was a “Fundraiser and Director of Logistics” for the mayor’s campaign from 2019 to 2021. She has reportedly raised more than $18 million for Adams’ campaign during that time.
The authorities have reiterated that neither Adams nor his campaign staff have been accused of any wrongdoing.
Eric Adams staffer who ‘acted improperly’ ID’d, put on leave amid FBI probe: sources
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