A federal judge has permanently dismissed the criminal case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, weeks after the Trump administration instructed prosecutors to drop the corruption charges.
The move led to the resignation of Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor who accused Adams of striking a deal with the Trump administration to dismiss his case in exchange for immigration enforcement.
The Manhattan judge dismissed the case “with prejudice”, which means the Department of Justice cannot resurrect the charges against Adams based on the same evidence.
Adams was charged with conspiracy, fraud, soliciting illegal campaign contributions, and bribery. He had denied any wrongdoing.
In an indictment last September, Adams was alleged to have accepted gifts totalling more than $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens in exchange for favours.
In a ruling on Wednesday, US District Judge Dale Ho said that the Justice Department had not objected to a motion from Adams seeking the permanent dismissal of the case.
Judge Ho said he was dismissing the case permanently because allowing federal prosecutors to revive the case in the future 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.”
In February, acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove, ordered New York prosecutors to drop the case against Adams, arguing it “restricted” the mayor’s ability to address “illegal immigration and violent crime” – a key goal of the Trump administration.
But Manhattan’s former top prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, refused to do so.
She alleged in a letter to Bove’s boss, Attorney General Pam Bondi, that the mayor’s team had offered “what amounted to a quid pro quo”, saying Adams would be able to help with administration policies “only if the indictment were dismissed”.
Sassoon and six other other high-level Justice officials resigned over the controversy, saying there was no legal justification to dismiss Adams’ case.
Following the ruling, Alex Spiro, the attorney for Mayor Adams, said the case “should have never been brought in the first place”. “From Day 1, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed.”
By BBC News
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