The U.S. Department of Justice requested a court on Friday to dismiss the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. This request came after federal prosecutors in Manhattan declined to drop the case, leading to several resignations in protest.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and senior officials from the Public Integrity Section and Criminal Division presented documents seeking the dismissal of the case.
They argued that the case had been compromised, and its continuation would affect Adams’ re-election bid. The judge has not yet approved the request.
The move follows a phone call between Bove and prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section, which handles corruption cases, where they were urged to sign the motion for dismissal. After the call, prosecutors unanimously resigned.
None of the prosecutors in Manhattan, who had filed the case against Adams, signed the dismissal motion. The Department of Justice’s action followed clashes between its Washington leadership and its Manhattan office.
At least seven federal prosecutors, including Danielle Sassoon, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, resigned in response to Bove’s order to halt the case.
Sassoon accused the Department of Justice of seeking to drop the case in exchange for Adams’ help with President Trump’s immigration agenda. She expressed her belief that Adams had committed the crimes he was accused of, including destroying evidence and instructing others to provide false information to the FBI.
Adams, a Democrat, pleaded not guilty last September to charges of accepting illegal campaign contributions and bribes in the form of free or discounted travel in exchange for using his influence.
Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, dismissed the claim that the dismissal request was linked to immigration policy, calling it a “complete lie.” “We didn’t offer anything, and the department didn’t ask for anything from us,” Spiro said in an email to AP.
