The Justice Department’s bid to quash Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case isn’t a done deal, a federal judge hinted Tuesday — as he called a hearing over the abrupt move.
Judge Dale Ho warned that the government’s bid to abandon the prosecution is “not conclusive upon the court,” as he ordered Adams and the newly installed DOJ attorneys on the case to come to Manhattan federal court Wednesday to explain their motion.
The Biden-appointed Ho noted that judges can reject bids to toss pending cases if doing so would be “clearly contrary to manifest public interest,” quoting from a 2022 appeals court ruling.
The judge asked the DOJ to explain its reasoning for wanting to end the case — a move that came as the Southern District of New York was preparing an expanded indictment that would have charged Adams with destroying evidence and lying to the FBI.
It’s unclear what would happen if Ho were to deny the government’s bid to toss the case, but one proposal floated by outside lawyers would call for the judge appointing a third-party “special prosecutor” to continue taking the case to trial.
Acting Deputy Attorney Emil Bove, formerly one of President Trump’s lawyers in his infamous “hush money” case, wrote in a memo last week that the prosecution has “unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration.”
The immigration crackdown is one of Trump’s main priorities in his second term. Adams has signaled a willingness to support harsh measures — including rolling back “sanctuary city” policies — that many other Democrat elected officials in New York City reject.
Bove’s memo notes that the Justice Department’s bid to quash the case was made without considering the strength of the evidence against Adams.
But pressing on with the case would be “directly endangering the lives of millions of New Yorkers” because Adams’ ability to govern has been seriously compromised, Bove argued.
The government’s proposal leaves open the possibility of reviving the case after November’s mayoral election — a prospect that one prosecutor on the case blasted as a “dismissal-with-leverage” gambit that keeps Adams wrapped around Trump’s finger.
The former interim head of the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office, Danielle Sassoon, has also alleged that Adams and the Trump-appointed DOJ officials were clearly involved in a “quid pro quo” in which the mayor hinged his support for Trump’s immigration agenda on his case being dropped.
“Rather than be rewarded, Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case,” wrote Sassoon, a Republican and former clerk for conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, in a scathing resignation letter.
Adams and his lawyer Alex Spiro has denied that such a quid pro quo exists.
Bove and the mayor’s lawyers have suggested that the case against him was “politically motivated” retribution for Adams speaking out about Biden’s immigration policies — despite the fact that the probe into Adams started in 2021, and that his Biden comments happened in 2023.
Adams’ camp and Bove have also claimed recently that former US Attorney Damian Williams had political reasons for bringing the case. They have cited as alleged evidence an op-ed that Williams published after leaving office in which he writes that “America’s most vital city is being led with a broken ethical compass.”
The feds’ finally formally moved to dismiss the case against Adams Friday night after seven federal prosecutors resigned in protest.
Bove only convinced Ed Sullivan, the senior litigation counsel for the DOJ’s public integrity section in Washington D.C., to sign onto the motion after threatening to fire his entire team of prosecutors if one of them did not comply, Reuters reported.
News of the hearing comes as Adams’ political fate appears perilous, with Gov. Kathy Hochul meeting with “key leaders” Tuesday at her Manhattan office to discuss Hizzoner’s future after half of his deputy mayors announced plans to step down.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to doing favors for Turkish diplomats in exchange for $123,000 worth of travel perk bribes.
