Federal prosecutors filed a motion in New York to drop corruption allegations against New York City mayor Eric Adams. This brings to an end a long-running battle which has upset the Justice Department’s decision to abandon this case.
The motion for dismissal of the five-count charge was filed in the public docket of the court on Friday. It stated that “the Acting Deputy attorney general has determined pursuant to a authorization by the AttorneyGeneral, dismissal is both necessary and appropriate and has ordered the same based on unique facts and circumstances.”
The filing stated that “the Acting Assistant Attorney General concluded dismissal was necessary due to appearances of improperness and the risk of interference with 2025 elections in New York City,” adding that “the Acting Assistant Attorney General also concluded continuing these proceedings would hinder the defendant’s capacity to govern in New York City.”
Before charges can be officially dropped, the judge in charge of the case must first approve the motion.
The motion was signed by a senior career lawyer from the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section as well as the acting head for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Also, an acting deputy attorney-general who is the second in command at the Justice Department, also signed it.
The decision to drop Adams’ case originated at Justice Department Headquarters when former Trump lawyer and Acting Deputy AG Emil Bove wrote a memo telling Manhattan prosecutors to abandon the five-count Indictment filed in September.
Chad Mizelle, chief of staff at the Justice Department, said in a statement that the refusal of several prosecutors of the department to dismiss Adams’ case was further proof of their disordered motives. These individuals have no place in the DOJ.”
Bove, in a directive, cited Adams’ “restricted” ability to assist the Trump administration with its immigration policies. The case was dropped without prejudice so that the charges could later be reinstated. The charges were also attributed to political weaponization, he said. CBS News confirmed that the decision was made after meetings between senior Justice Department Officials, Southern District of New York Prosecutors and Adams’ lawyers about dropping the charges.
The decision to drop charges against New York Mayor was met with an internal revolt by the Justice Department leadership in Manhattan and federal prosecutors. Internal disagreements became public on Thursday when Danielle Sassoon resigned as acting U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Sassoon, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi that CBS News reviewed, offered to resign and stated the request to drop Adams case “raises grave concerns” and the dismissal would be inconsistent with her ability to prosecute federal crime without fear or favour and to present good-faith arguments to the courts.
Sassoon wrote to the attorney-general alleging that Adams’ lawyers “urged what amounted a quid proquo” during a meeting last month with Justice Department officials, allegedly offering to have the mayor cooperate with Trump’s priorities in exchange for dismissing the charges. Bove and Adams’ legal team have both denied this claim.
It is an astonishing and dangerous precedent that Adams’s shifting and opportunistic commitments to immigration and other policy issues are rewarded with a dismissal of criminal charges. Sassoon wrote that a court would not likely determine that an exchange of this kind is in the public’s interest.
Bove responded by writing a letter to Sassoon accusing her of insubordination. The acting deputy Attorney General said that he and the Justice Department leadership were standing by their decision to drop Adams’ case and Sassoon’s refusal to comply with it interfered “with the interests of justice.”
Bove wrote in his letter that the prosecution of Adams prevented the mayor from communicating directly and honestly with the City officials for whom he was responsible, and federal agencies working to protect the public against national security threats and violent crimes.
He said that his decision to drop the charges was “a reflection of the Justice Department’s determination that these risks to public safety greatly outweigh the interests you have identified.”
Bove’s email revealed that the line prosecutors involved in Adams’ case were placed on leave pending an investigation into Sassoon’s conduct.
CBS News confirmed that after Sassoon resigned, the Adams case’s supervision was moved from Manhattan to the Justice Department headquarters in Washington, D.C., and two other leadership members – Kevin Driscoll, of the Criminal Division, and John Keller, the acting head of public integrity – also resigned out of protest. .
CBS News reported that two other sources who were familiar with the situation said that three additional senior officials from the Washington, D.C. public integrity unit also resigned.
On Friday, a prosecutor from the Southern District of New York quit his job and protested the Trump administration’s move. CBS News obtained a copy in which Hagan Scotten, in a letter that was scathing, defended Sassoon and the work done by the prosecutors on the Adams case.
He wrote: “Any assistant U.S. Attorney would know that our traditions and laws do not permit using prosecutorial powers to influence other citizens in this manner, let alone elected officials.” If there isn’t a lawyer in earshot who will give the President that advice, I expect you to find someone who has enough cowardice or foolery to file your motion.
Scotten replied, “But I was never going be me.”
In September , Adams became the first New York City Mayor to be indicted for on five counts of corruption. These charges included conspiracy, bribery and campaign finance violations. He has maintained his innocence since pleading he is not guilty.
In April he was due to be tried and, if found guilty, could have faced a maximum of 45 years behind bars.
Adams’ dismissal follows Trump meeting
This stunning turn of events follows high-profile meetings between Adams and President Trump. While Mr. Trump was still the president-elect , Adams and President Trump met in Florida. Adams claimed that the two did not discuss his case during their meeting.
Adams then cancelled his plans to go to the Martin Luther King Jr. Day in New York City, and chose to go to Mr. Trump’s Inauguration instead, after receiving an invitation .
When asked previously about the case, Mr. Trump stated that he felt Adams was “treated pretty unfairly” and that would consider a pardon. The dismissal negates any need for a pardon.
Trump told members of the media on Thursday that he had not been involved in the decision to drop this case. I knew nothing about it. “I did not.”
Recently, it appeared that prosecutors were ramping up their cases
Sassoon revealed in her resignation letter that her office considered filing additional charges against Adams, focusing on alleged evidence destruction and false statements made to the FBI. These charges were not filed.
In court documents, the prosecutors stated that they had discovered “additional criminal activity” by Mayor . However, they did not disclose the nature of this other criminal conduct.
Adams was furious at the time.
“You know even Ray Charles knows what’s happening. Alex Spiro is my attorney and he’s handling this. “I’ve repeated over and over that I have done nothing wrong,” Adams stated.
Spiro referred to the move of the prosecutors as “amateur hours” and accused them “of looking for a headline rather than doing the right thing”.
Prosecutors said that additional charges would be “quite probable” shortly after Adams’ initial charges were announced in the fall of last year.
What’s Next for Adams
Adams is now free to focus on the running of the city and his re-election.
His opponents include Comptroller Brad Lander, Lander’s predecessor former Comptroller Scott Stringer as well as State Senator Jessica Ramos and State Sen. Zellnor Mamdani, to name a few.
