Feds move to toss Adams corruption charges after wave of resignations protesting Trump DOJ order to drop case
Federal prosecutors moved to toss the historic corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams Friday following a wave of resignations in protest of the Justice Department’s orders for the case to be killed.The motion to dismiss the case without prejudice marks the first formal step to halting Adams’ criminal prosecution — and leaves the future of the case in the hands of a Biden-appointed federal judge. It came days after the stunning directive by the DOJ that Manhattan federal prosecutors should drop the case because it was “politicized” and impacting Adams’ ability to lead the city and to help enact President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, who signed Friday’s motion, ordered the Southern District of New York Monday to toss the case and admonished the prosecutors’ “factual and legal theories” as “extremely aggressive.”He also railed that the Adams prosecution was politically motivated retribution for him speaking against the Biden administration’s border policies and claimed the case threatened Adams’ ability to help carry out Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants since his security clearance had been revoked with the looming prosecution.The bombshell order put prosecutors in the famously independent Southern District on a collision course with the newly installed Trump DOJ over the past week.
Acting Manhattan US Attorney Danielle Sassoon refused to obey the demand, instead sending a scathing resignation letter accusing Adams of agreeing to acquiesce to Trump’s immigration plans as part of a “quid pro quo” deal to get his case dropped.“Because the law does not support a dismissal, and because I am confident that Adams has committed the crimes with which he is charged, I cannot agree to seek a dismissal driven by improper considerations,” added Sassoon, a Republican.Sassoon also revealed in the letter that Manhattan feds were prepared to bring a new bombshell indictment charg...