Ingrid Lewis-Martin, the chief adviser of the newly indicted New York City mayor Eric Adams, was served a subpoena and had her phones seized on Friday at a New York airport, where she was met by state and federal investigators.
Lewis-Martin was greeted with the grand-jury subpoena at John F. Kennedy International Airport after returning from vacation in Japan, according to multiple media outlets. Investigators also raided her Brooklyn home and obtained other electronic devices on Friday. She appears to be connected to two different investigations, one led by New York and the other by the U.S. government.
“Ingrid Lewis-Martin has been served with a subpoena from the Southern District of New York, and her phones were given to the New York County district attorney’s office,” said her attorney, Arthur Aidala. “She will cooperate fully with any and all investigations, and Ms. Lewis is not the target of any case of which we are aware.”
The actions came one day after a federal indictment against Adams was unsealed revealing fraud and bribery charges in connection to his improper relationship with the Turkish government. The unsealed indictment alleges Adams accepted bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
Adams received free or discounted airline flights and luxurious hotel stays from Turkish business and government officials who sought to influence him. Some of the foreign funds benefited his 2021 mayoral campaign, while other alleged bribery payments dates back to 2015 when he was the Brooklyn borough president.
He is accused of defrauding New York City taxpayers out of $10 million in public-matching funds by lying about the straw donations, which were in conflict with campaign finance laws.
Adams faces five counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals; wire fraud; solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national in two instances; and bribery.
Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges and turned himself in to authorities on Friday. The Democratic mayor has repeatedly insisted that he is innocent.
Lewis-Martin, described by colleagues as a “fiercely loyal” confidante of Adams, is the latest official in the mayor’s inner circle to be caught in the middle of several probes plaguing City Hall. Several members of the Adams administration have already resigned, including the police commissioner, chief legal counsel, and schools chancellor.
After receiving the subpoena, Lewis-Martin went on her lawyer’s radio show to deny any wrongdoing on her part.
“I don’t know anything,” she said Friday evening on AM 970. “I’ve done nothing. And I don’t think that there is anything to know.”
“We are imperfect, but we’re not thieves,” Lewis-Martin added, seemingly referring to herself and the mayor. “And I do believe that in the end that the New York City public will see that we have not done anything illegal to the magnitude or scale that requires the federal government and the DA’s office to investigate us.”