Mayor Eric Adams is racing to raise half a million dollars for his defense fund over the next two weeks — as he gears up for legal action in connection to the FBI probe into his 2021 campaign fundraising, The Post has learned.
Sources say the mayor is set on having a $500,000 reserve in place by mid-December.
“The Trust has been established and it will begin formally accepting donations soon,” Adams’ campaign attorney Vitto Pitta said.
“We expect strong support.”
Hizzoner created the fund on Nov. 17 to allow him to raise money to cover attorney fees incurred in connection to the federal probe of his first mayoral run.
The new donation apparatus allows Adams to accept contributions of up to $5,000 while not in a normal campaign cycle to cover the costs.
All the donor information must be reported to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and no one doing business with the city is allowed to donate.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio set up a similar defense fund to pay off $300,000 in legal fees that related to “nongovernmental work” investigated as part of a federal and state pay-to-play probe and possible campaign finance violations.
But Blaz also passed on a $2.6 million bill to the taxpayers in connection to the investigations.
News of the investigation in Adams’ campaign emerged in early November when the FBI raided the house of his top fundraiser, Brianna Suggs, causing the mayor to book it back to the Big Apple from DC, where he was expected to meet with White House officials over the worsening migrant crisis.
The same morning it was later revealed that agents also stormed the Jersey home of Adams administration staffer Rana Abbasova, who has since been suspended from City Hall after a review found she allegedly “acted improperly.”
Feds also hit the home of former Turkish Airline executive Cenk Öcal, who worked on the mayor’s transition team.
Neither Adams nor anyone on his staff or campaign have been accused of wrongdoing by authorities. Suggs was ordered to testify before an impending grand jury.
Suggs is also no longer raising money for Adams’ reelection campaign but is transitioning to a new role on the campaign staff, the mayor said earlier this week.
Adams, meanwhile, has been tight-lipped about who has been working to help him raise the money for the defense fund.
“I’m going to identify my infrastructure and the law states everything must be transparent and once we have that infrastructure up and operating, it will be transparent and you’ll see exactly who’s doing what,” he said when asked about the fund Tuesday.
The only name that has emerged as a helper is Frank Carone, the mayor’s longtime adviser and former chief of staff, who confirmed he is raising funds in an informal capacity.
“I will, obviously and enthusiastically, support the mayor, my friend, and I will encourage my friends and family to donate,” he told The Post, adding he will not be working for the fund officially.
By law, Hizzoner has until Jan. 15, when the first quarterly report is due, to disclose those names.
Pitta said previously the fund was created “after consultation with the Campaign Finance Board and the Conflicts of Interest Board.”
The investigation into Adams’ fundraising is focused on whether Hizzoner’s 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government and others to direct money into his mayoral effort.