A federal judge on Wednesday formally dismissed the high-profile corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, ending a legal battle that had gripped the city and prompted the largest wave of senior federal prosecutor resignations in decades.
U.S. District Judge Dale Ho issued the ruling after a dramatic and unprecedented chain of events triggered by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, which had ordered the dismissal of the case earlier this year.
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Adams, who had pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy, bribery, and wire fraud, was set to face trial in April before the case unraveled following a directive from Emil Bove, then acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General. Bove’s controversial instruction to drop the case prompted internal upheaval, public outcry, and accusations of political interference.
The decision to dismiss the charges sparked a rare rebellion within the Justice Department.
Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, refused to carry out the directive, citing the lack of a “good-faith basis” for ending the prosecution.
Sassoon resigned in protest, along with one other prosecutor in New York and five attorneys from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Unit in Washington, D.C.
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Speculation quickly emerged that Mayor Adams had reached a behind-the-scenes deal with the Trump administration to support federal immigration enforcement in exchange for leniency. Adams’ attorney categorically denied any such arrangement, calling the accusations “false and defamatory.”
Adams, who has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation, issued a statement Wednesday thanking his legal team and expressing relief.
“I am grateful for the court’s decision and am looking forward to returning my full focus to the work New Yorkers elected me to do,” Adams said.
Rather than immediately comply with the DOJ’s request, Judge Ho appointed Paul Clement, a former U.S. Solicitor General under President George W. Bush, to review the legal merits of the case’s dismissal. In his report to the court, Clement recommended that the case be dismissed with prejudice, permanently preventing the government from bringing the charges again.
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Clement warned that allowing a future re-indictment could risk “creating the appearance, if not the reality, that the actions of a public official are being driven by concerns about staying in the good graces of the federal executive.”
Judge Ho ultimately agreed with Clement’s recommendation, stating in his order that the potential chilling effect on public service warranted a definitive end to the case.
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