A federal judge will hear arguments Wednesday about whether to dismiss the criminal case against Mayor Eric Adams.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho ordered Adams, his defense attorneys and federal prosecutors to appear in court Wednesday afternoon, following a request from the U.S. Department of Justice late last week to drop the charges. The Manhattan court conference comes after days of contention, resignations and allegations that President Donald Trump’s administration has been pushing to throw out the case so Adams can champion his immigration policies.
A federal grand jury indicted the mayor in September on five charges, including bribery. Prosecutors said he accepted more than $100,000 worth of travel perks from people who wanted political favors, including Turkish nationals. The indictment also accused Adams of taking illegal campaign donations from foreigners.
Adams pleaded not guilty and has denied any misconduct. He was supposed to stand trial this spring, just before the 2025 mayoral primary.
Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney General Emil Bove sent a memo last week to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York, directing prosecutors to stop pursuing their case against Adams at least until after the November election. He said that the indictment was brought too close to the mayoral race and that the case was impeding Adams’ ability to focus on immigration and violent crime.
Danielle Sassoon, who was appointed temporarily to lead the Southern District of New York, urged the Department of Justice to reconsider. When Bove continued to press for the case to be dropped, she resigned, followed by other prosecutors in New York City and Washington, D.C.
Attorneys in Washington filed a motion on Friday to dismiss the charges. Ho, the judge in the case, wrote in an order that he wanted prosecutors and defense lawyers to discuss in court why they believe the case should be dropped.
