Adams raises $725K for legal defense fund — with ex Mayor Mike Bloomberg pitching in the max of $5K
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- January 17, 2024
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Mayor Eric Adams has raised nearly three quarters of a million dollars for his legal defense fund over a probe into his 2021 campaign — with former mayor Michael Bloomberg dishing $5k to help out his embattled successor. Hizzoner raised at least $725,000 since he started the defense fund back in November, according to Adams’ longtime campaign compliance attorney, Vito Pitta.
“The Eric Adams Legal Defense Trust has drawn strong support in a short amount of time,” Pitta told The Post on Monday. About $650,000 had been raised by December 31, Pitta said, with another $75,000 flowing into the fund since then. Adams opened the fund back in November after the FBI raided the home of his top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, and it became clear the feds were looking into his 2021 mayoral campaign.
Investigators are reportedly examining whether the Turkish government illegally funneled funds to the Adams campaign, and if he engaged in quid pro quo favors. Hizzoner, whose electronic devices were seized after the FBI raid, has not been accused of wrongdoing at this point in the probe. At least 228 people have donated to Adams’ defense fund, with nearly half — 107 of them — donating the maximum amount of $5,000 since November.
In addition to Bloomberg, other maximum donors include David Mack, the construction magnate who sits on the MTA board, and Adams’ former chief of staff Frank Carone. Three other members of Carone’s family each donated $5,000, bringing their family’s donation to $20,000. State Rep. Jennifer Rakjumar, who represents Queens, donated $2,500.
Adams, meanwhile, donated a mere $120, according to records..