NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams declined to say Tuesday whether he still has confidence in the city’s police chief, days after federal agents seized the cellphones of the police department’s chief and at least four other high-ranking mayors.
In his first press conference since the whirlwind of attacksAdams — whose own devices were taken by FBI agents in November — acknowledged that the sudden increase in federal oversight had “raised many questions and concerns.” He then dodged questions about whether he planned to fire the police chief, Edward Caban, amid a series of news reports claiming that Caban is under pressure to resign.
“I have complete confidence in the New York City Police Department,” Adams said when asked if he still had confidence in Caban’s leadership, noting that if changes were to come, his administration would announce them.
Adams was in quarantine at home after testing positive for COVID-19 on Monday. He spoke to reporters online for more than an hour, maintaining a sober and cautious tone and dodging questions about how many members of his administration had been approached by federal agents or whether anyone would be removed from office.
He also declined to say whether Caban would be banned from contact with federal law enforcement agencies, which work closely with the nation’s largest police force.
Instead, Adams spoke at length about his background as a working-class boy who rose to become New York City’s police chief, noting, “All my life I have striven for justice, and this administration will continue to do so, no matter what.”
The comments came six days after federal investigators seized equipment from Caban, as well as from Adams’ first deputy mayor, Sheena Wright; her partner and the city’s schools chancellor, David Banks; the deputy mayor for public safety, Philip Banks, Banks’ brother; and Timothy Pearson, one of the mayor’s closest confidants.
Wright, who attended Tuesday’s virtual briefing, said she was “fully cooperating” with the investigation.
The latest seizures appear to be separate from the investigation that led federal agents to seize the mayor’s phones in November. That probe was partly focused on a search for information about the mayor’s foreign travel and possible connections to the Turkish government, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation.
No one has been charged with a crime in connection with any of the federal investigations. Both the FBI and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office, which is leading the investigation, have declined to comment on the probe.
In February, federal agents searched the house from Adams’ Asian Affairs Director Winnie Greco as part of a separate investigation led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
The mayor’s former building commissioner, Eric Ulrich, is also facing state charges for allegedly accepting bribes, while several people who contributed to the mayor’s campaign were charged in a straw donor scheme last year.
Adams, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, declined to say whether he would step aside if he were charged with a crime. Instead, he said, “I am committed to completing my term as Mayor of the City of New York and seeking re-election.”
He then referred to the upcoming 9/11 anniversary and noted the “courage, the grit and the attitude” of New Yorkers in the wake of the attacks.
“That’s who I am,” Adams said. “I’m a resilient New Yorker.”