NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge dismissed New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ corruption case on Wednesday, acquiescing to the Justice Department’s extraordinary request to set aside criminal charges so the Democrat could help with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The judge, though, denied prosecutors the ability to potentially bring the criminal case back after the mayoral election. Judge Dale E. Ho’s order to dismiss the case “with prejudice” spares Adams from having to govern in a way that pleases Trump, or potentially risk having the Republican’s Justice Department revive the charges.
“Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” Ho wrote in his 78-page decision.
The judge said he wasn’t opining on the merits of the case, but that courts can’t force prosecutors to move forward. He rejected that an alternative the Justice Department had sought — dismissing it “without prejudice,” which would have left room for the charges to be refiled.
“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,” the judge wrote.
Messages seeking comment were sent to prosecutors, Adams’ lawyer and City Hall.
Ho’s decision follows a legal drama that roiled the Justice Department, created turmoil in City Hall and left Adams’ mayoralty hanging by a thread amid questions about his political independence and ability to govern.
Several prosecutors in New York and Washington resigned rather than carry out the Justice Department’s directive to drop the case against Adams. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, pondered whether to remove Adams from office but decided instead to propose new oversight for city government.
At a Feb. 19 hearing, Adams told Ho: “I have not committed a crime.”
Adams pleaded not guilty to bribery and other charges after a 2024 indictment accused him of accepting illegal campaign contributions and travel discounts from a Turkish official and others — and returning the favors by, among other things, helping Turkey open a diplomatic building without passing fire inspections.
The case, brought during President Joe Biden’s administration, was on track for an April trial until Trump’s Justice Department moved to drop it. Ho delayed the trial and appointed former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to assist him in deciding what to do.
In a written submission on March 7, Clement told Ho that he had no choice under the law but to dismiss the case. But he recommended that the judge reject the Justice Department’s request to be able to refile the charges after the mayoral election, which would leave “a prospect that hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the accused.”
The decision comes with three months to go until a Democratic primary that is likely to choose the next mayor.
Adams faces a large field of challengers, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and several Democrats who say he’s now too indebted to Trump for New Yorkers to be sure he’ll prioritize their interests. Adams has said he’s “solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent, and I will always put this city first.”
As recently as Jan. 6, the assistant U.S. attorneys in New York who were prosecuting Adams wrote in court papers that they continued to “uncover additional criminal conduct by Adams.” But a month later, their new superiors in Washington decided to abandon the case.
In court filings and a hearing, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove has said he was “particularly concerned about the impact of the prosecution on Mayor Adams’ ability to support” Trump’s immigration objectives. Bove also has questioned the prior administration’s motives in pursuing Adams, who had criticized Biden’s handling of immigration.
The Trump administration’s acting U.S. attorney in New York, Danielle Sassoon, resisted Bove’s order, saying she couldn’t defend a dismissal linked to political considerations.
Sassoon and several other career prosecutors quit rather than follow Bove’s order.
After four of Adams’ top deputies at City Hall decided to resign, Hochul briefly considered taking the unprecedented step of ousting a New York City mayor. She ultimately concluded it would be undemocratic and disruptive to do so.
Adams, a retired police captain and former state lawmaker and Brooklyn official, was elected in 2021 as a centrist Democrat in one of the United States’ liberal strongholds. Since his indictment, Adams has cultivated a warmer relationship with Trump, telling mayoral staffers not to criticize the president publicly.
Adams insists he’s just looking out for the city by having a working relationship with the administration.
