John Jefferson
Attorneys for New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a U.S. judge to dismiss with prejudice all charges against their client on Wednesday, seeking to expedite the dismissal nearly two weeks after prosecutors moved to drop the corruption case.
In the filing, Adams’ legal team asked the presiding judge in the case, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, to grant the Justice Department ‘s request to dismiss charges against Adams swiftly and with prejudice, arguing that an “extraordinary flurry” of leaks by prosecutors had violated Adams’ right to a fair trial.
In particular, Adams’ lawyers pointed to the leaking of a Feb. 12 resignation letter by former acting U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, which they said “destroyed whatever presumption of innocence Mayor Adams had left.”
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“In addition to violating Mayor Adams’s fundamental constitutional rights and ability to receive a fair trial, the government’s leaks violated numerous statutory and court rules, including the Justice Department’s own longstanding policies aimed at curbing prosecutorial misconduct,” they argued in the filing.
The charges against Adams will remain intact until the presiding judge, U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, agrees to dismiss them.
Adams was indicted last fall on five federal corruption and bribery charges tied to the alleged solicitation of illegal campaign contributions and the alleged receiving of luxury travel perks on behalf of Turkish foreign nationals, according to Justice Department documents.
Adams pleaded not guilty to all charges, and has strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
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U.S. Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove asked federal prosecutors earlier this month to drop all corruption charges against the mayor— an unusual move, and one that requires the formal sign-off of the presiding judge in the case.
In the motion to dismiss, Bove said the legal proceedings against Adams were detracting from other Justice Department priorities, such as illegal immigration and violent crime.
But U.S. Judge Ho declined to immediately grant the motion to dismiss at a court hearing last week, telling Bove and Adams’ legal team that he needed more time to further consider the facts.
Ho also appointed former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to argue against the motion to dismiss and to look into the Justice Department’s motives for dismissing the charges.
He has instructed legal briefs to be filed on March 7 and, if necessary, said there would be a hearing on March 14.
“This is a very complicated situation, at least from where I sit,” Ho said after the roughly 90-minute hearing last week., adding: “I’m not going to shoot from the hip right here on the bench.”
Not dropping the charges against Adams is highly unusual, and no U.S. appellate court has ever sided with a federal judge who declined to grant an unopposed motion to dismiss.
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