Justice Department asks court to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

The Justice Department on Friday filed a motion to dismiss federal public corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

“The Acting Deputy Attorney General has determined, pursuant to an authorization by the Attorney General, that dismissal is necessary and appropriate, and has directed the same, based on the unique facts and circumstances of this case,” wrote Edward Sullivan, senior litigation counsel in the Justice Department's public integrity unit.

On Monday, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, President Donald Trump’s former defense lawyer, had ordered the interim U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, to drop the charges because they interfered with the mayor’s ability to fight crime and carry out the president’s immigration enforcement policy.

Bove said in his directive that his office had not reviewed the case and the decision to drop it was not based on its merits.

Sassoon refused Bove’s directive and resigned in a scathing eight-page letter, saying, “Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations.”

At least seven prosecutors in New York and Washington resigned rather than taking part in dismissing the case.

The motion to dismiss preserves federal prosecutors’ option to re-charge Adams with the same crime, which prompted some legal experts to question the move.

“This looks like an effort to extort the mayor into doing the president's will, which is extremely corrupt,” New York Law School professor and former prosecutor Rebecca Roiphe told Newsday on Tuesday.

In a statement issued before the motion was filed Friday, Adams said, "I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never. I am solely beholden to the 8.3 million New Yorkers that I represent and I will always put this city first."

He added, “Now, we must put this difficult episode behind us so that trust can be restored, New York can move forward, and we can continue delivering for the people of this city.”

Friday’s court filing gets the mayor a step closer to avoiding a criminal trial ahead of a competitive Democratic primary season, but it does not end the case.

District Court Judge Dale Ho will next have to rule on the motion.

In September, a Manhattan grand jury charged Adams in a five-count indictment with soliciting campaign funds from Turkish businesspeople and a government official and conspiring to launder the illegal campaign cash through straw donors in order to qualify for millions of dollars of matching public funds. The mayor was also charged with accepting lavish hotel accommodations and airfare upgrades on Turkish airlines in exchange for pushing through the opening of the Turkish consulate in Midtown Manhattan.

Adams pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed the prosecution was political retribution for his criticism of the Biden administration’s border security policies.

Bove had argued that the case should be dropped to avoid interference in the upcoming New York mayoral election.

If convicted, Adams could have faced a maximum of 45 years at his upcoming trial, which was scheduled for April ahead of the June primary.

With Matthew Chayes and AP