U.S. District Judge Dale E. Ho dismissed the federal indictment against Democrat New York City Mayor Eric Adams “with prejudice” in a Wednesday ruling.
Federal prosecutors charged Adams in September on five federal charges relating to allegations that he “sought and accepted improper valuable benefits” from wealthy foreign businesspeople and at least one Turkish government official for nearly a decade. The judge granted the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) directive ordering the Southern District of New York, which brought the case against Adams, to drop the case in mid-February.
The judge argued in the ruling that the court has no authority to order the DOJ to continue prosecuting a case, but expresses no opinion on the merits of the case.
“To be clear, the Court again emphasizes that it does not express any opinion as to the merits of the case or whether the prosecution of Mayor Adams “should” move forward,” Ho wrote. “The Court notes only that it has no authority to require that it continue, and that the remedy for what some amici characterize as an abuse of power cannot be for the Court to arrogate to itself more power than it may properly wield in our system of government. It is precisely in the most difficult cases that it is most critical to adhere to constitutional principles. That includes recognizing the limits of this Court’s constitutional authority consistent with the separation of powers.”
Ho denied the DOJ’s request to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” which would allow the case to be revived in the future. He said dismissing the case “without prejudice” could create the “inevitable” perception that the mayor’s freedom is based on his ability to enforce illegal immigration in New York City.
“The Court declines, in its limited discretion under Rule 48(a), to endorse that outcome. Instead, it dismisses this case with prejudice—meaning that the Government may not bring the charges in the Indictment against Mayor Adams in the future,” the judge wrote.
“In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents. That appearance is inevitable, and it counsels in favor of dismissal with prejudice,” the ruling continued.
President Donald Trump’s DOJ reportedly believed that the indictment had “unduly restricted” Adams’ ability to handle the migrant crisis that had plagued his city. The Democrat mayor had communicated with the Trump administration, particularly border czar Tom Homan, about collaborating to arrest illegal immigrant criminals and make the community safer.
Prosecutors charged Adams with one count of “conspiracy to commit wire fraud, federal program bribery, and to receive campaign contributions by foreign nationals,” one count of wire fraud, two counts of soliciting a contribution by a foreign national and one count of bribery.
A Turkish official who sent straw donations to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign allegedly gave the now-mayor free or discounted travel on a Turkish airline to several international locations in exchange for Adams agreeing to have a Turkish diplomatic outpost established in the city, according to the indictment. The payments were allegedly excluded from Adams’ financial disclosures.
Adams, who has maintained his innocence, accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of retaliating against him for criticizing the then-president’s “broken immigration policies” in Sept. 2024.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional details from Wednesday’s ruling.
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