The judge presiding over the sweeping public corruption case against Mayor Adams on Tuesday ordered prosecutors for the Department of Justice to appear in court to explain their reasons for seeking to dismiss it.
Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho told prosecutors to appear before him at 2 p.m. Wednesday to address “the scope and effect” of the mayor’s consent to the arrangement and the procedure they believe should be carried out to resolve the motion. He said Adams must file his written consent by 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Ho noted that the government’s decision was “not conclusive upon the Court.” The judge has come under pressure from critics of the motion, including former U.S. attorneys, to probe the reasons for the dismissal, which they expressed concern resulted from a “quid pro quo” between the mayor and the Trump administration. Some have said he should appoint a special prosecutor to handle the case independently.
On Friday, the DOJ moved to dismiss the sweeping public corruption case after several prosecutors quit rather than obey an order to abandon the historic prosecution.
The motion was filed by President Trump’s No. 2 at the Department of Justice, Emil Bove, and two Washington, D.C.-based prosecutors and follows the stunning resignation of acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon. It asked the case be dismissed “without prejudice,” meaning it could be revived.
After receiving an order from Main Justice in Washington, D.C., on Monday directing her to drop the charges, Sassoon quit in protest. She said she wouldn’t support the effort to throw out the case that resulted from an effective “quid pro quo” between the Trump administration and New York City’s mayor — one that would see Adams let off the hook in exchange for giving Trump free rein to carry out his hardline immigration policies in the country’s largest sanctuary city.
In another filing early Tuesday, Adams’ lawyer, Alex Spiro, pushed back on the characterization by Sassoon.
“At no time prior to, during, or after the meeting did we, Mayor Adams, or anyone else acting on behalf of Mayor Adams offer anything to the Department, or anyone else, in exchange for dismissal of the case. Nor did the Department, or anyone else, ever ask anything of us or the Mayor in exchange for dismissing the case. There was no quid pro quo. Period,” Spiro wrote.
He said at a Jan. 31 meeting with Bove, “[We] explained that the indictment and upcoming trial were impeding Mayor Adams in myriad ways, including as to enforcement of federal immigration laws,” and that they had concerns about the motivations of the former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. Sassoon and another prosecutor who quit vehemently rejected the defense’s claims about Williams.
Adams has pleaded not guilty to bribery, soliciting illegal campaign donations from foreign nationals, wire fraud, and conspiracy charges.
He’s accused of abusing his positions in government starting more than a decade ago by accepting plush benefits — such as first-class flights and hotel stays all over the world — from wealthy foreign businessmen and officials in or close to the Turkish government looking to gain influence over him. Adams is also accused of soliciting and accepting illegal campaign donations from his foreign benefactors that were funneled through U.S. citizens.
Spiro and Bove could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
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