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“The Justice Department on Monday directed federal prosecutors in New York to drop corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams… Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove wrote that the decision had nothing to do with the merits of the case, and that the Justice Department was not questioning the integrity of the prosecutors who brought it…
“Instead, he wrote that the September 2024 indictment - brought by federal prosecutors during former President Joe Biden's term - interfered with Adams' 2025 mayoral re-election campaign, and that the case was distracting Adams from supporting the federal government on immigration.” Reuters
“Several prosecutors - including the top US attorney in Manhattan - have resigned after the Justice Department directed the New York office to drop [the] corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. It was first announced [last] Thursday that Danielle Sassoon, a conservative lawyer recently promoted by President Donald Trump, had resigned after refusing to dismiss the case… Her departure was followed by the resignations of at least five other top justice department officials.” BBC
Here’s our previous coverage of the indictment. The Flip Side
The left is critical of the decision to dismiss the charges.
“The main rationale for dropping the prosecution of Adams, the claim that he was targeted for speaking out against the migrant policy of the Biden administration, never made sense. Federal investigators began looking into Adams’s shady fundraising practices in 2021, months before he was sworn into office and a year before the first migrants arrived at the Port Authority bus terminal…
“Claims of political bias are especially silly when you consider that the lead prosecutor in the case, Hagan Scotten, is an Army veteran who served in Iraq and previously clerked for ultraconservative judge Brett Kavanaugh, who is now part of the right-leaning majority of the U.S. Supreme Court. He is hardly the kind of person who would violate his oath and risk his job and reputation to carry political water for Biden and the Democrats.”
Errol Louis, New York Magazine
“Alas, it’s simply inconvenient for the mayor to be charged with crimes right now. While the memo says in a footnote that the government was not directly dismissing the case in exchange for Adams’ cooperation on immigration enforcement—well, what does your brain tell you?…
“The dismissal is contingent on Adams agreeing, in writing, that the case would be dismissed ‘without prejudice’, meaning the charges could be pursued again if he doesn’t behave himself. In other words: Trump owns him, and is installing him as his viceroy in New York City. Do what he wants, or he’ll put him in jail.”
Jim Newell, Slate
“Here’s the fundamental problem with what Bove and DOJ leadership have done. They have enacted and embraced a policy that it’s perfectly valid to base prosecution decisions on the political inclinations of the subject: Mayor Adams can’t remain under indictment because he will help us promote our immigration policy agenda. Imagine where that principle leads.”
Elie Honig, New York Magazine
“Taken to its logical conclusion, this argument suggests that Adams is free to flout any law if he dutifully works to support Trump’s priorities. If the mayor’s alleged public corruption can be ignored under these circumstances, can all offenses be ignored?…
“This argument stretches the Justice Department’s view that a sitting president cannot be prosecuted because defending his innocence would be too distracting for someone with such an important job. Does the DOJ’s position on Adams mean that immunity from prosecution is now bestowed upon every mayor, every governor, every township supervisor? Will lawlessness by public officials be tolerated if they simply support the president’s policy objectives?”
Barbara McQuade, Bloomberg
The right is divided.
The right is divided.
“The damage here is not that historic wrongdoing will go unpunished; the bribery allegations against Adams were underwhelming. It’s the ugly impression of raw political force controlling Justice Department decisions. If the new administration wanted the charges against Adams dismissed, it could have led with the argument that, in its judgment, the case just wasn’t strong enough. Instead, it highlighted political and policy priorities. That will hurt the legitimacy of law enforcement.”
Jason Willick, Washington Post
“How can Bove claim to be ending the ‘weaponization’ of prosecutions when he is advancing a practice that would treat leniently public officials who promise to support the Trump administration’s policies and treat more harshly those who don’t? In short, the extension of the logic of plea-bargain conditions into the realm of compliant policy actions by public officials is very much the politicization of criminal justice.”
Ed Whelan, National Review
Others argue, “The government uses the carrot of dismissal or the stick of further indictment to promote the ends that the prosecutor's office deems appropriate… More than 90% of federal criminal cases end up in plea bargains… Adams can provide orders [of magnitude] more assistance than the typical defendant could, which may justify the sort of unusual deferred prosecution that was offered…
“I see a difference only in degree, not in kind. Adams's making this deal is public for all to see, and the voters of New York can (and will) judge him accordingly. Trump makes his deals explicit and publicly known. He truly saw nothing wrong with his ‘perfect’ Ukraine phone call. He was happy to release the transcript. Virtually all other government officials make these sorts of [deals], but are far more opaque. I, for one, prefer transparency.”
Josh Blackman, Volokh Conspiracy
“The core of the charges was that Adams, while still Brooklyn borough president, had asked the fire commissioner to consider a request from the Turkish delegation to the U.N. to expedite certain permits concerning the opening of the new Turkish consulate. In exchange for this favor, the Biden DOJ proffered, Adams received business-class upgrades on Turkish Airlines, and ‘free or steeply discounted stays in a luxury hotel’ in Istanbul…
“It is unethical and unbecoming of a mayor of the nation’s greatest city to receive baksheesh of this sort —but is it worthy of federal prosecution? Probably not, especially given the high bar for establishing public corruption set by the Supreme Court… Trump’s DOJ was right to move the question of Eric Adams’s character out of federal court and back into the voting booth… Let Adams make his case to the electorate without the threat of prison hanging over his head.”
Seth Barron, City Journal
