Corruption case against NYC mayor dismissed
Judge rules charges can't be brought again
By: john Bacon
and N'dea Yancy-Bragg
USA Today
..... A federal judge on Wednesday [04/02/2025] dismissed the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams - without the attached strings sought by the Department of Justice, U.S. District Judge Dale No dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled at a later date.
.....
The Justice Department's request for a dismissal without prejudice could have left the Democratic mayor beholden to President Donald Trump;s administration, which considers Adams an ally in its immigration crackdown.
..... "Dismissing the case without Prejudice would cerate 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.
..... The decision came weeks after a court-appointed attorney, Paul D. Clement, counseled Ho to dismiss the indictment with prejudice. Ho selected Clement, who was a solicitor general under President George W. Bush, to present arguments against the prosecutors' bid to dismiss the charges in part because Adams and the Trump DOJ were aligned in their positions.
..... Adams pleaded not guilty in September [2024] to charges of accepting free travel and political donations from Turkish officials to take action that benefited their country. He has maintained his innocence. "As I said from the outset, I never broke the law and I never will. I never put nay personal benefit above my solemn responsibility as your mayor," Adams said in a video statement in mid-February. [2025] "I absolutely never traded my power as an elected official for personal befit."
..... After Trump took office, federal prosecutors field a motion to dismiss the corruption charges against Adams in February, [2025] arguing that the mayor couldn't effectively cooperate on immigration enforcement if he was fighting a corruption case.
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Ho wrote that the DOJ's assertion was "unsubstantiated," noting that Adams took at least one new immigration-related action while the indictment was pending: allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate at the Rikers Island Jail complex, a decision Ho said "appears to be contrary to New York City law.
..... "Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions," Ho wrote.
..... Ho stressed his decision not to deny the DOJ's motion altogether was not a reflection of Adams' guilt or innocence. The judge wrote that while the court cannot force the government to prosecute a defendant, it can "shine a light on the reasons that DOJ has decided to dismiss this case, leaving the most important judgment to the public."
..... Adams, now running for reelection, has been under pressure to resign since the indictment came down. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she would not oust Adams from office and would instead seek to impose strict new guidelines on his administration
..... Contributing: Lauren Villagran, USA Today; Reuters