Trove of documents unsealed in NYC mayor’s criminal case offers a glimpse of thwarted investigation

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal agents investigating New York City Mayor Eric Adams were still seizing phones and applying for search warrants days before Justice Department leaders ordered prosecutors to drop the corruption case, according to documents released Friday.

The trove of court records, which had been sealed, opens a window into the criminal case and show that even as Washington officials were backing away from the prosecution, investigators in Manhattan were moving forward.

The documents also confirm something prosecutors revealed previously: That a federal investigation into whether Adams took improper campaign contributions began in the summer of 2021, when the Democrat was still in his old job of Brooklyn borough president but widely expected to win the mayor’s race that fall.

Adams has repeatedly said he believed he was prosecuted because, much later, as mayor, he had criticized former President Joe Bid...