(2 Apr 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 19 February 2025
1. New York Mayor Eric Adams arriving outside the federal courthouse
2. Adams leaving the federal courthouse
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 24 February 2025
3. Mayor Eric Adams speaking at podium
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Washington – 5 March 2025
4. New York City Mayor Eric Adams approaches press pool
5. Adams speaks to press
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 20 March 2025
6. Mayor Eric Adams speaking inside Herold Square Subway station
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: New York – 25 March 2025
7. Mayor Eric Adams speaking at Flushing Meadows Corona Park Aquatic Center
STORYLINE:
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.
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.
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