Law enforcement officers were on scene at the offices of Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish Thursday.
Spokesperson Mary Louise Madigan confirmed authorities arrived at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday and left roughly four hours later. Madigan said the arrival involved offices on part of the 8th floor and that fewer than a dozen employees were impacted.
Madigan later told reporters five boxes of files, two hard drives (one belonging to Budish), and an envelope of "miscellaneous materials" were taken from the scene. She added at least nine agents from the FBI (including the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation) were involved in the search.
On Wednesday, a grand jury subpoena was served to the county seeking "the complete email accounts belonging to Budish and several of his top executives, as well as the phone records of former Corrections Director Ken Mills." Earlier this month, Mills was one of three Cuyahoga County officials to plead not guilty to charges they faced as part of an ongoing corruption investigation.
You can read the full subpoena below or here.
Budish issued the following statement on the matter:
"Today federal and state authorities raided my office. This is part of an ongoing investigation in the County Administration.
"First, I want to make it clear that I and my administration have been completely forthcoming and transparent throughout this process.
"We have been fully cooperative and readily supplied all information and document requested.
"I want to state very clearly that I have done nothing wrong.
"This latest development is without justification. I can only say that it is what looks like a political move. We have taken this investigation very seriously. Unfortunately, the actions today have turned it into a political circus.
"I am in this office to improve the lives of people across this county. That is what I have done every day since I was elected and that is what I will continue to do. I made a promise to the people of this county and I will keep it. I will not let them down."