Mayor Eric Adams’ criminal case should be tossed once-and-for-all because bombshell letters from Manhattan federal prosecutors “destroyed whatever presumption of innocence” Hizzoner had left, his lawyers argued in a new court filing Wednesday.
Hizzoner’s attorneys filed a motion in Manhattan federal court early Wednesday to have the corruption case dismissed due to alleged “prosecutorial misconduct” over an “extraordinary flurry of leaked internal Justice Department correspondence” — including a letter detailing how prosecutors were prepping a new indictment against him.
The leaks, which unfolded soon after President Trump’s Justice Department moved to kill the case earlier this month, were filled with “wildly inflammatory” and false accusations against the embattled mayor, the latest filing charges.
“Simply put, the government’s conduct has destroyed whatever presumption of innocence Mayor Adams had left,” Adams’ lawyers argued in the motion.
“The most appropriate recourse is to dismiss this case now and do so with prejudice. That is true based on this latest leak alone and independent of the fact that the government itself wants nothing to do with these meritless charges and has moved to dismiss them.”
The filing added: “Mayor Adams has no choice but to make this motion now based on the most recent prosecutorial misconduct.”
The move comes after then-interim US Attorney Danielle Sassoon abruptly resigned on Feb. 12 rather than obey an order from Acting Deputy US Attorney General Emil Bove to drop the charges leveled against the mayor.
In her resignation letter, which was obtained by The Post at the time, Sassoon accused the DOJ of dangling a quid pro quo to ensure Adams would help Trump’s immigration fight in exchange for his criminal case being dismissed.
The letter, too, also detailed how federal prosecutors had been prepared to bring a new bombshell indictment charging Hizzoner with destroying evidence and telling people to lie to the FBI.
Meanwhile, another prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, told Bove in a resignation letter that it would take a “fool” or a “coward” to meet Bove’s demand, “but it was never going to be me.”
“To be sure, the February 12 letter, and the decision to leak it, were last acts of desperation in defense of a meritless case that never should have been pursued in the first place,” Adams’ attorneys wrote in the latest filing.
“The former interim US Attorney all but conceded that the initial charging decision was compromised when she wrote in her letter that “[c]onfidence in the Department would best be restored by” a new indictment, which would be “more than enough to address any perception of impropriety created by [her predecessor’s] personal conduct.’”
Hizzoner’s legal team argue that the series of leaks had caused “extreme prejudice” to Adams’ reputation.
“Influential leaders and politicians who initially championed the Mayor are now insisting that he resign or that the governor remove him,” the motion states.
“Indeed, media outlets, commentators, self-proclaimed ‘friends of the court,’ and Mayor Adams’s political opponents, both old and new, have all seized on the Feb. 12 letter as evidence both that Mayor Adams is guilty and that the Justice Department’s correct decision to dismiss this case was somehow wrongful.”
The development comes after a federal judge ruled Friday that he wants to hear from an independent lawyer before deciding whether to toss Adams’ corruption charges altogether.
Manhattan federal Judge Dale Ho ordered Hizzoner’s April corruption trial adjourned as he appointed former US Solicitor General Paul Clement to argue against the DOJ’s position that the mayor’s case should be dismissed.
At the hearing, Bove defended his request to drop the charges, insisting they came too close to Adams’ reelection campaign and would prevent the mayor from aiding Trump’s immigration priorities.
Adams, on his part, confirmed at the hearing that he knew charges could later be reinstated — a factor the case’s lead prosecutor, Scotten, argued kept Adams wrapped tightly around Trump’s finger.
The mayor’s team and DOJ officials have denied that accusation.
Adams was indicted last September on charges he allegedly accepted more than $100,000 in illegal campaign contributions and travel perks from a Turkish official and others seeking to buy influence while he was Brooklyn borough president.
He has pleaded not guilty and long-maintained his innocence.
