By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to permanently dismiss corruption charges against him, opening a schism with President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.
In an unusual move earlier this month, a Trump-appointed Justice Department official ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop their case accusing Adams of taking bribes from Turkish officials, arguing it was distracting the mayor from helping the Republican president crack down on immigration.
Danielle Sassoon, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney at the time, resigned rather than follow the directive from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove. Seven other federal prosecutors also resigned, sparking concern among congressional Democrats and former officials about politicization of federal criminal cases.
Bove, Trump’s former personal criminal defense lawyer, ended up signing a motion himself asking U.S. District Judge Dale Ho in Manhattan to dismiss the case against Adams, a Democrat, without prejudice, meaning the charges could be brought again.
Adams, who pleaded not guilty, initially consented to that condition. Some senior Democrats in the most populous U.S. city argued that made the mayor beholden to Trump’s Republican administration, contributing to calls among New York Democratic politicians for Adams to resign or for Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul to remove him.
In a court filing on Wednesday, Adams’ defense lawyer Alex Spiro asked Ho to dismiss the charges with prejudice, meaning they could not be brought again. He argued the publication of Sassoon’s February 12 letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi opposing Bove’s order meant Adams could never get a fair trial.
“The government’s conduct has destroyed whatever presumption of innocence Mayor Adams had left,” wrote Spiro, who also represents billionaire Trump advisor Elon Musk and is charging clients $3,000 per hour, Reuters reported on Tuesday.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ho last week appointed an independent lawyer, former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, to provide another perspective on whether he should dismiss the case without prejudice.
Clement, who was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush and has advocated for conservative causes, is due to file his opinion on March 7, with possible oral arguments on March 14.
In his Wednesday court filing, Spiro said Ho should not delay his decision on whether to dismiss the case without prejudice. But he said the publication of Sassoon’s letter gave the judge a separate basis to dismiss the case.
Hochul last week said she would not remove Adams, but proposed new oversight of the mayor’s office.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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