A federal judge dismissed New York City Mayor Eric Adams' corruption case on Wednesday, April 2, 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. 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. At a February 19 hearing, Adams told Judge Dale E. Ho: "I have not committed a crime."
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. Several prosecutors in New York and Washington had resigned rather than carry out the Justice Department's directive to drop the case against Adams. Governor Kathy Hochul, a fellow Democrat, pondered whether to remove Adams from office but decided instead to propose new oversight for city government.
Ho had delayed the trial, and appointed former US 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. However, he recommended that the judge reject the Justice Department's request to be able to refile the charges after an upcoming mayoral election, which would leave "a prospect that hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the accused."
Judge Ho's order has denied prosecutors the ability to potentially bring the criminal case back after the mayoral election. 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. Judge 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.
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. Since his indictment, Adams has cultivated a warmer relationship with Trump, telling mayoral staffers not to criticize the president publicly.
The decision comes with three months to go until a Democratic primary that is likely to choose the next mayor. Adams faces a large field of challengers, including former Governor 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 insists he's just looking out for the city by having a working relationship with the administration. 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."