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(The Hill) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally asked a federal district court to drop its corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) after federal prosecutors in Manhattan resigned rather than dismiss the case.
“The United States respectfully submits this motion seeking dismissal without prejudice of the charges in this case, with leave of the Court,” the DOJ officials wrote in a Friday notice to the U.S. district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Dale Ho.
This comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier Friday that the September corruption charges against Adams were going to be dismissed later in the day.
“Yes, Martha, I’m on a different time zone, but it’s my understanding it is being dismissed today,” Bondi told Fox News host Martha MacCallum.
In the Friday filing, DOJ officials reiterated concerns in a Monday order directing federal prosecutors to dismiss charges against the mayor, a decision that was reached despite officials saying that prosecutors did nothing wrong and without assessing the strength of the case.
The acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove concluded on Friday “that continuing these proceedings would interfere with the defendant’s ability to govern in New York City, which poses unacceptable threats to public safety, national security, and related federal immigration initiatives and policies.”
Bove told prosecutors Monday that the case “improperly interfered” with the mayor’s reelection bid and that it limited his ability to tackle “illegal immigration and violent crime” in New York.
The DOJ directive to drop charges against Adams on Monday ignited a number of resignations in the SDNY office, including from interim attorney Danielle Sassoon whose Thursday decision to leave her post was praised by Democrats.
Sassoon told Bondi in a Wednesday letter that instead of being “rewarded,” Adams’s advocacy should be called out for what it is: “an improper offer of immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case.”
“Although Mr. Bove disclaimed any intention to exchange leniency in this case for Adams’s assistance in enforcing federal law, that is the nature of the bargain laid bare in Mr. Bove’s memo,” Sassoon wrote.
Adams was hit with a five-count indictment in September last year, alleging he accepted and sought out “improper valuable benefits” and other gifts from businessmen and at least one government official from Turkey.
The mayor has vigorously denied any wrongdoing and has railed against the charges, characterizing them as political over his past criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of immigration. He said this week that he still needs to work on recapturing the trust of his constituents and praised the DOJ for its “honesty.”
