CLEVELAND, Ohio - Agents with the FBI and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation conducted a four-hour search of the offices of Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish on Thursday, and among the items seized were Budish’s computer and cellphone.

Agents showed up at the the county executive’s offices on the 8th floor of the county administration building in downtown Cleveland shortly before noon. Budish and others were told to leave and that they would be notified when they could return.

County spokesman Mary Louise Madigan said agents took five boxes of items, but did not identify the contents, along with two computers, one belonging to Budish, and an envelope with miscellaneous equipment.

Madigan said employees cooperated with the search. After the search ended, she issued a statement [see full statement below] from Budish saying that he has done nothing wrong and that the search was without justification.

“We have taken this investigation very seriously,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, the actions today have turned it into a political circus.”

The Office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recently took over the corruption investigation, which has been going on for more than a year. Yost’s office declined to comment on Budish’s comments.

Corruption investigators have served 17 subpoenas on Budish’s administration over the past year. The latest subpoena sought the complete email accounts belonging to Budish and several of his top executives, as well as the phone records of former jail director Ken Mills. The subpoena required the information be presented to the grand jury by Thursday morning.

But an attorney for Budish said Thursday that the county had asked for and was granted a one-day extension of the deadline for turning over the records.

The other officials whose email accounts were sought include Brandy Carney, chief of public safety and justice; Maggie Keenan, director of the office of budget and management; Ed Morales, director of human resources and labor relations; and Douglas Dykes, chief talent officer.

The latest subpoena is the first to be served on the county since the corruption investigation was taken over by Yost.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office began the investigation, which Initially appeared to focus primarily on the county’s IT Department, but eventually investigators began scrutinizing the county’s troubled jail operations as well.

County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley recused himself because he was in the position of having to defend Budish in a civil lawsuit involving conditions at the County Jail while at the same time investigating possible criminal behavior related to the jail. The investigation has been turned over to Yost’s office, but two of O’Malley’s assistant prosecutors are still involved.

Yost said in a statement to cleveland.com earlier this month that his office would remain fair even if the investigation ultimately includes a focus on Budish.

The county executive, who has not been publicly identified as a target of the investigation, retained former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Steve Dettelbach to represent him. Yost defeated Dettelbach in the November general election after a contentious campaign.

Last month, the grand jury indicted Dykes, a member of Budish’s cabinet, and two former county administrators on corruption-related charges.

Dykes, Mills, and former IT administrator Emily McNeeley were charged with a variety of felonies and misdemeanors. All three have pleaded not guilty.