New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ historic federal corruption case has been dropped.
Judge Dale Ho has agreed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s request to drop the charges against Adams, but he did so “with prejudice.” That means Adams cannot be re-tried on the same charges at a later time – a stipulation the Justice Department sought in its initial request to dismiss the case.
The decision to formally drop the case comes after Judge Ho appointed Paul Clement as a “friend of the court” to present arguments over the DOJ’s request. The initial hearing on the request did not include anyone who opposed the move. In his filing to the court, Clement argued the case should be dropped with prejudice to prevent the appearance that Adams remains under political pressure.
The outcome appears to put an end to the legal jeopardy that Adams had been in ever since he was indicted last September on five counts of bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance violations.
“The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place—and finally today that case is gone forever. From Day 1, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed,” Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro said.
“This case was an example of political weaponization and a waste of resources. We are focused on arresting and prosecuting terrorists while returning the Department of Justice to its core mission of keeping Americans safe,” the Department of Justice said in a statement.