New York City mayor Eric Adams is reportedly trying to ensure that the corruption charges brought against him are dismissed and cannot be reinstated.
Bloomberg reported that Adams’ attorney, citing allegations of misconduct by prosecutors and urging a federal court to dismiss the case against the mayors “with prejudice”, meaning the same criminal accusations cannot be pursued.
Alex Spiro, an attorney, referred to a letter written by Danielle Sassoon on February 12, in which she claimed that the Justice Department had made a deal with Adams to gain his support for President Donald Trump’s policy.
Spiro stated that Sassoon’s letter was misconduct and violated both court rules as well as departmental policies. He said the misconduct is enough to end the case permanently.
Bloomberg reported that Spiro wrote in his letter: “For the sake of clarity, Mayor Adams consented knowingly to the government’s request to dismiss the case without prejudice. The recent leaks by the government provide this court an independent and sufficient basis to dismiss the prosecution because of the irreparable harm to Mayor Adams’ rights.”
The Justice Department requested earlier this month that Adams’s case be dismissed “without prejudice,” stating that Trump’s nominee for U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York will review the matter. Jay Clayton is the former Securities and Exchange Commission chair.
Sassoon and other DOJ employees resigned in protest, as did the mayor. Allegations were made that this was a “quid pro quo” to get Adams to agree with Trump’s crackdown on immigration.
Adams denies this claim.
Ho did not decide on Feb. 19, regarding the attempt to drop the graft charge against Adams, during the 90-minute hearing. He asked for “patience” as he weighed what he described as an “unusual situation.”
Ho stated that it was not in anyone’s best interest to have this situation drag on, but “I won’t shoot from the hip here at the bench.”
The acting deputy attorney general Emil Bove appeared before the judge alone to defend the office’s request, which Bove said was necessary for Adams to “protect the city”.
Ho said he’d appoint Paul Clement, a lawyer from the Clement & Murphy PLLC law firm, to make arguments against the prosecutors’ bid to dismiss the case to help him reach a decision.
Adams entered a not guilty plea on Sept. 27 to federal charges of bribery. He rejected the allegations that he had accepted foreign travel, campaign money, and other perks from foreign interests looking to leverage his influence.
