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.
In the DOJ request to drop the case, prosecutors said having it hang over Adams interfered with his 2025 mayoral campaign and his ability to cooperate with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.
The initial request to drop the charges made note that the decision was not based on “the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based.”
That triggered concerns that Adams could not effectively govern the city because he would be beholden to the Trump administration, as long as the possibility of the charges returning remained in place.
Adams and his attorneys have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
More on the judge’s ruling
In his ruling to dismiss the case with prejudice, Judge Ho took issue with the Department of Justice’s request to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning he could’ve faced trial on the same charges again at a later time.
Judge Ho summarized the DOJ’s reasoning to drop the case as based on three things: It’s tainted with impropriety, detrimental to national security and immigration enforcement, and was a weak case to begin with.
“There may or may not be good reasons to drop this prosecution. But the reasons articulated by DOJ, if taken at face value, are inconsistent with a decision to leave the charges in the Indictment hanging like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the Mayor,” Judge Ho wrote. “And there are many reasons to be troubled by DOJ’s proffered rationales—further supporting dismissal with prejudice.”
Judge Ho also addressed why he couldn’t continue to pursue the case after the DOJ moved to dismiss it.
“Some will undoubtedly find today’s decision unsatisfying, wondering why, if DOJ’s ostensible reasons for dropping this case are so troubling, the Court does not simply deny the Motion to Dismiss altogether. But, as explained above, the Court cannot order DOJ to continue the prosecution, and it is aware of no authority (outside of the criminal contempt context) that would empower it, as some have urged, to appoint an independent prosecutor,” Judge Ho wrote. “Therefore, any decision by this Court to deny the Government’s Motion to Dismiss would be futile at best, because DOJ could—and, by all indications, unequivocally would—simply refuse to prosecute the case, inevitably resulting in a dismissal after seventy days for violating the Mayor’s right to a speedy trial. That route would simply postpone finality in this case to a date uncomfortably close to the June 24 mayoral primary. The public interest would not be served by such an outcome.”
“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,” Judge Ho added.
“Legally speaking, he is innocent until proven guilty, and he will never be proven guilty – that is an unequivocal, it is rare when we can rarely say things that definitively – but he will never face legal consequences for the allegations that were against him in this case,” Hofstra Law Professor James Sample said.
Impact on the mayor’s race
The timing of the decision to drop the case is critical for Adams, who is facing a Thursday midnight deadline to file petitions to run for mayor in New York City’s Democratic primary.
The decision means Adams is now free to run without the threat of going to jail, or facing a politically damaging trial.
Since there’s no possibility of the charges against him resurfacing, Adams can also say he is not beholden to President Trump or his administration, since they can no longer bring the same case against him. Adams has repeatedly said that, and just Tuesday night, New York City joined a suit against the Trump administration to challenge cuts that would cost New York City $100 million in CDC funding.
“When federal policies directly impact our city, we have been, and will continue to be, the first and loudest to advocate for New Yorkers. These funds are crucial in protecting public health, and the reversal will have serious consequences for communities across the five boroughs,” Adams said in his statement Tuesday night.
Even before Adams officially learned that his election was dropped, Adams made it clear at a National Action Network event that claims that the case was dropped because he was “under the finger” of President Trump were, in his mind, false.
“I do not know who you think I’m under the finger of,” Adams said Wednesday morning. “But I’m on the finger of Eric Adams, the mayor of the city of New York, and I’m going to continue to do so.”
Adams also made an argument voters can expect to hear if he seeks another term.
“I’m the same person that made sure we put $17 billion in the [minority and women-owned businesses] in this city, that invested in foster care children, that built more housing in year one and year two of our administration than in the history of this city,” Adams said.
Adams has not made clear how he intends to run for re-election – as a Democrat, independent, or perhaps even as a Republican.
Adams has previously told CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer to expect twists and turns in the upcoming mayoral election.
The mayor’s detractors were also speaking out.
“Either way, I think there was tremendous damage that was done to this city because of an Adams administration, so the quickest we can get away from this administration, I think the better for the city,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.
“It’s absolutely disgusting. You have a man that broke the law. We want to remind people that it wasn’t just about flight upgrades. This was a man who illegally held a campaign donor scheme, and the fact that the judge unfortunately bowed to Trump is appalling,” mayoral candidate Michael Blake said.
“The ruling does not change the facts: Eric Adams works for Donald Trump, not New Yorkers,” mayoral candidate and city Comptroller Brad Lander said.
Move to drop charges sparked resignations
The DOJ memo seeking to drop the charges set off a spate of resignations that started in City Hall, at the very heart of Adams’ inner circle, and reached all the way to the U.S. attorney’s office. At issue was then-Acting U.S. Attorney of the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon’s allegation that the request to dismiss the case amounted to a quid pro quo, namely Adams’ cooperation on President Trump’s immigration enforcement in exchange for his charges being dropped. Sassoon resigned, rather than drop the charges, as did several other people in the U.S. attorney’s office.
The mayor and his attorney pushed back strenuously against the notion of a quid pro quo.
“The idea that there was a quid pro quo is a total lie. We offered nothing and the department asked nothing of us,” Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro said.
Allegations that Adams had been compromised by the Trump administration and was operating, essentially, under its thumb led four New York City deputy mayors to resign and spurred numerous calls for Adams to step down. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, then met with key leaders to discuss his future. She ultimately acted to limit Adams’ powers in a bid to restore trust in government, but said she wouldn’t remove him.
What Adams has been accused of
Last September, federal prosecutors alleged Adams had been abusing his power for almost a decade. They said he solicited illegal campaign donations from wealthy foreigners and corporations, including a Turkish government official.
In the 57-page indictment, Adams was accused of receiving gifts he didn’t disclose, including luxury travel, worth more than $100,000, in return for political favors.
“These upgrades and freebies were not part of some frequent flyer or loyalty program available to the general public. As we allege, this was a multi-year scheme to buy favor with a single New York City politician on the rise,” then-U.S. District Attorney for the Southern District Damian Williams said as he announced the indictment.
Prosecutors accused Adams of pressuring FDNY officials to approve the Turkish consulate building in Manhattan, despite fire safety concerns.
The Adams campaign was also accused of using “straw donors” for illicit contributions, enabling it to tap into $10 million in matching funds.
“These are bright red lines, and we allege that the mayor crossed them again and again for years,” Williams said.
Before the DOJ stepped in, prosecutors appeared to be ramping up their case, claiming they had uncovered “additional criminal conduct.”
Adams associates also under investigation
The historic indictment came amid multiple investigations into Adams’ campaign, as well as other administration officials.
Numerous top members of the Adams administration resigned before the indictment was announced, including former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and his twin brother, James Caban. Former Schools Chancellor David Banks and his wife, former Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and his brother, former Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III, were also investigated.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a longtime Adams advisor, pleaded not guilty to bribery, money laundering and conspiracy in a case involving her son and two real estate developers. The mayor’s former liaison for the Muslim community, Mohamed Bahi, was also charged with conspiracy for his role in collecting illegal donations for Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and has agreed to plead guilty, according to court documents.