Corruption Case Against Mayor Adams Dropped By Federal Judge

By Idy Perl

On Wednesday morning a federal judge granted the Justice Department’s request and dropped the corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, for which he was set to go on trial for later in April. 

Back in February, acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, acting under a directive from President Trump, ordered acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, to dismiss the case. Sassoon refused to comply, saying she saw no good reason to drop the case, and resigned instead. 

Manhattan Federal Judge James Ho didn’t dismiss the case right away and hired an outside counsel, Paul Clement, to examine the case and assist the court in making a final decision. Clement advised the court to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means the charges are permanently dropped. The Trump administration had proposed dismissing the case without prejudice, which would’ve left a chance for prosecutors to renew the case in the future. 

Judge Ho explained the reasoning for the dismissal with prejudice, referencing accusations that the Trump administration was helping Adams in exchange for his cooperation in cracking down on illegal immigration. 

“In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents,” Judge Dale Ho explained. 

Now that he’s free, Mayor Adams is apparently planning to join the campaign trail for mayor and try to convince New Yorkers why they should vote for him again.