The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the criminal charges against Mayor Adams can never be refiled. The judge did not take a position if Adams was innocent or guilty, or if the evidence was strong or weak. While the mayor voiced satisfaction, the judge was critical of the Justice Department and its reasons for dropping the corruption case. NBC New York’s Jonathan Dienst reports.
The second-year federal judge weighing whether to dismiss corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has decided to drop the case with prejudice, meaning charges cannot be refiled at a later date.
U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho issued a ruling Wednesday denying prosecutors' request that the dismissal be "without prejudice," which would have left potential charges hanging over Adams' head.
The judge said he wasn't opining on the merits of the case, but that courts can't force prosecutors to move forward. Still, he expressed qualms about the government's move, saying “there are many reasons to be troubled” by its reasoning.
“Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” Ho wrote. He said he found it “disturbing” that public officials might get special treatment from prosecutors by complying with policy goals.
He rejected an alternative the Justice Department had sought — dismissing the case “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.
U.S. & World
Adams held an early afternoon press conference from Gracie Mansion to address the developments. He said, as he has maintained throughout the unraveling of allegations, that he has done nothing wrong -- and vowed to keep his attention focused on working for New Yorkers.
"Today we turn the page, move forward together," Adams said. “As I have repeatedly said, I have always been solely beholden to the people of this city. No special interests, no political opponents, but just everyday New Yorkers, just you."
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Earlier, his lawyer, Alex Spiro, lauded the dismissal, saying in a statement: “The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place—and finally today that case is gone forever."
The Department of Justice says it would have been a waste of resources.
In a statement after the decision was released Wednesday, a DOJ spokesperson said, “This case was an example of political weaponization and a waste of resources. We are focused on arresting and prosecuting terrorists while returning the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe.”
Read the decision
The 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 had 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.
The Justice Department had wanted the option to revive the case in the fall. Adams’ lawyers wanted it gone for good.
In a written submission on March 7, Clement told Ho 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 them after this year’s mayoral election, which would leave “a prospect that hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the accused.”
Mayoral election looms
The decision comes with three months to go until a Democratic primary that is likely to choose the city's 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, 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 then-President Joe Biden’s handling of an influx of migrants.
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 a
Sassoon and several other career prosecutors and supervisors of public corruption cases quit rather than follow Bove’s order. Bove put other New York-based prosecutors involved in the Adams case on paid leave.
Bove and two senior Justice Department lawyers ultimately signed court papers requesting a dismissal with the option to refile the charges after the November election.
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. But since his indictment in September, Adams has cultivated a warmer relationship with Trump, telling his staff not to criticize the president publicly and making media appearances with administration officials.
Adams insists that he’s just looking out for the city by having a working relationship with the administration.
Adams' rivals on the campaign trail weighed in on the charges being dropped Wednesday. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said at a press event that "New Yorkers are fed up with Mayor Adams," while City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said the charges being dropped does not change the race "at all."
