As Mayor Eric Adams awaited a decision by federal prosecutors in Manhattan over whether to heed the Justice Department’s order to dismiss his five-count corruption indictment, he delivered an address on Tuesday to staunchly defend his character and profess his innocence.

He insisted that the prosecution was based on sensational claims and had put him and his family through an “unnecessary ordeal” that he argued was now over.

“I never broke the law and I never would,” he said in the six-minute speech at City Hall. “I would never put any personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor.”

Mr. Adams did not address concerns that the potential resolution of his case would make him beholden to President Trump, who has said that he and the mayor were both “persecuted” by prosecutors and that he would consider pardoning Mr. Adams.

Mr. Adams sought to reassure New Yorkers that he was focused on running the city, and he said that he would work to regain their trust.

“You can trust me to keep moving the city forward,” he said.

The acting head of the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, Danielle R. Sassoon, must now decide whether to carry out the order by Emil Bove III, the Justice Department’s acting No. 2 official, to dismiss the charges “as soon as is practicable” by filing a motion with the judge overseeing the case.