A federal judge declined the Department of Justice's request to toss out a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
U.S. District Court Judge Dale Ho was in no rush to dismiss the charges, pushing back against Trump administration officials who argued that Adams needed to be freed from the burden of the case to better assist them in their immigration agenda.
Ho, a Biden appointee, wrote on Friday that the motion to dismiss had not been adequately tested, as no one appeared to argue against it. He appointed former Bush admin figure Paul Clement to counter the DOJ in an upcoming hearing.
"Normally, courts are aided in their decision-making through our system of adversarial testing, which can be particularly helpful in cases presenting unusual fact patterns or in cases of great public importance," Judge Ho wrote. "That is particularly so in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation."
The calls to dismiss the case have caused quite a stir within the Department of Justice. Eight federal prosecutors have resigned over the orders from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to kill the Adams case.
While Ho provided no indication of his leaning one way or the other, he told Adams's attorneys that he wanted to avoid any rash decisions on an important case.
“But to exercise my discretion properly, I’m not going to shoot from the hip right here on the bench,” Ho said on Wednesday. “I want to take the time that is necessary to carefully consider everything that you have put before me and said today, and I am considering all of that. I want to make sure that I consider everything appropriate and that I don’t consider anything inappropriate, and make a reasoned decision that is mindful of my role."
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