Eric Adams, feds buck quid pro quo murmurs at hearing on corruption case dismissal

MANHATTAN (CN) — Justice Department attorneys and New York City Mayor Eric Adams met in court Wednesday to tell a judge why he should grant dismissal of the corruption charges federal prosecutors brought last year against Adams.

Leading up to the highly awaited hearing, last week’s dismissal request bolstered accusations of a quid pro quo between Adams and the Trump administration. According to Danielle Sassoon, the former top prosecutor at the Southern District of New York who resigned rather than follow orders to drop the case, the mayor suggested he would assist with federal deportation efforts in exchange for his indictment being dismissed.

Both Adams and the federal government have denied Sassoon’s claim. But Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told the judge on Wednesday that the court doesn’t have the power to deny the dismissal even if there were such a conflict.

“You have a record undisputed that there is no quid pro quo,” Bove said. “But I don’t concede that, even if there was a quid pro quo, that there would be an issue with this motion.”

Bove argued that the power of U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, a Joe Biden appointee, to deny the government’s dismissal of a prosecution is extremely slim. Ho acknowledged as much when he opened the hearing by telling the parties that the court plays a “limited role” in a prosecution’s dismissal request.

Still, he found it important to hold the emergency hearing rather than accept the motion outright: “I called this conference because I have a few questions,” the judge said.

Adams entered Manhattan federal court to a barrage of boos from protestors and sat at the defense table alongside his noteworthy celebrity lawyer Alex Spiro. Adams was sworn in and told the judge he was of sound mind and body when he consented to the government’s dismissal of his charges — without prejudice.

The mayor, who quipped Wednesday that he failed a law class in his past, said he knew the charges could be brought again in the future. But he didn’t anticipate that happening.

“I have not committed a crime and I do not see them bringing it back,” Adams said.

He added that nothing had been promised to him, nor was he threatened by anyone to accept the terms of the case’s dismissal.

Appearing solo at the prosecutors’ desk was Bove, who has been the driving force behind getting Adams’ corruption case dismissed. He initially struggled to get a federal prosecutor to sign off on the dismissal motion at all, however; at least seven prosecutors including Sassoon stepped down rather than follow through with Bove’s intent to drop the case.

But on Wednesday, Bove implied repeatedly that all the power was in his hands. He said the government’s decision to stop the prosecution was a matter of prosecutorial discretion that is “virtually unreviewable in this courtroom.”

Bove claimed in a Feb. 10 letter to federal prosecutors that the case against Adams needed to be dropped because the ongoing case was interfering with Adams’ reelection campaign and efforts to address the immigration crisis in New York City.

Under questioning from the judge, Bove later admitted that the same logic could extend to other public officials facing criminal charges, or even mere candidates for public office.

“To consider whether their work is impacting the safety of the community … it’s a totally appropriate exercise to do so,” Bove said.

Ho didn’t immediately rule on the dismissal motion. Given the lack of precedent, it remains unlikely that he’ll rule against it, even as the circumstances surrounding the case have left legal scholars scratching their heads and City Hall in turmoil.

Earlier this week, four New York City deputy mayors — including First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer — resigned amid concerns that Adams was now unduly beholden to the Trump administration.

Critics say the dismissal without prejudice makes it so the Trump administration can dangle the threat of charges over Adams’ head for the rest of his tenure.

“Can these charges be brought again?” Ho asked Bove on Wednesday.

“They could be,” Bove said. “It’s in the department’s discretion.”

Adams, a first-term Democrat and former NYPD captain, was slapped with a five-count indictment in September 2024 that accuses him of taking luxury perks and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish businessmen and a government official.

He is also accused of defrauding a city program that matches small-dollar donations during his mayoral campaign and has been barred from using the program again in his bid for reelection.

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