The Department of Justice instructed the acting Manhattan-based U.S. attorney on Monday to drop federal charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was accused of accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from foreign sources.
Federal prosecutors indicted Adams on five counts in September over his luxurious benefits from Turkish business and government officials. The Democratic mayor has pleaded not guilty to all charges. President Donald Trump’s DOJ is looking to dismiss those charges without prejudice, meaning the case can be revived.
The move was made apparent in a memo written by Emil Bove, the administration’s acting U.S. deputy attorney general, to the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The DOJ says Adams must agree to the dismissal without prejudice in writing and indicates the confirmed U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York will review the matter following the mayoral election in November this year.
“The Justice Department has reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based, which are issues on which we defer to the U.S. Attorney’s Office at this time,” Bove wrote.
“This directive in no way calls into question the integrity and efforts of the line prosecutors responsible for the case, or your efforts in leading those prosecutors in connection with a matter you inherited,” the memo directed to Edward Kim, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, states.
Bove disclosed that the case was being dismissed for two reasons: the timing of the indictment and the Biden-era Manhattan U.S. attorney’s efforts to increase publicity, which could have tainted the jury pool if the case went to trial; and the prosecution’s hampering the mayor’s ability to address the city’s problems with illegal immigration and violent crime.
Before the indictment, Adams openly criticized the Biden administration’s lenient policies that enabled illegal immigration for four years. Trump wondered if there was a link between Adams’s statements and the indictment that came months later.
“It’s very interesting when he essentially went against what was happening with the migrants coming in,” Trump said in December, when asked whether he would consider pardoning Adams. “He made some pretty strong statements, like this is not sustainable.”
Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump said he had predicted Adams would be indicted by the DOJ for criticizing Joe Biden’s handling of the border.
“I watched about a year ago when [Adams] talked about how the illegal migrants are hurting our city, and the federal government should pay us,” Trump said at the time. “I said, ‘You know what? He’ll be indicted within a year.’ And I was exactly right because that’s what we have.”
During the post-election press conference, Trump referenced his prediction.
“I said it not as a prediction, a little bit lightheartedly, but I said it. I said he’s going to be indicted, and a few months later he got indicted. So, I would certainly look at” pardoning Adams, Trump said.
Before Trump returned to office, Adams said he would work with the incoming administration to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes and reform New York City’s sanctuary laws that limit local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The judge presiding over the case still must approve the dismissal, although that appears to be a formality. Prosecutors say they have no intention of pursuing the case any further.