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What’s next for Mayor Adams’ criminal case? We answer the pressing questions.
By
Samantha Max
Published Feb 12, 2025
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Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Feb 12, 2025
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The criminal case against Mayor Eric Adams is on shaky ground after the U.S. Department of Justice sent a memo Monday asking prosecutors to drop the charges — at least for now.
A federal grand jury indicted Adams last September on charges of bribery, conspiracy, wire fraud and soliciting campaign donations from foreign nationals. Prosecutors said he traded his political influence for pricey flight upgrades, ritzy hotel accommodations and illegal campaign contributions. The mayor has denied wrongdoing.
Damian Williams oversaw the mayor’s indictment during his tenure as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and took a tough stance on corruption while leading the office. He resigned late last year, after President Donald Trump's re-election. Now, one of Trump’s former defense attorneys holds the second highest post at the Justice Department and is asking federal prosecutors to dismiss Adams’ case.
Gothamist asked legal experts what this means for Adams — and for the office prosecuting the case.
Why does the Department of Justice want prosecutors to toss the case against Adams?
Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove directed the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York to dismiss the pending charges against Adams “as soon as is practicable” for two reasons.
The first, he said in a memo, is that prosecutors brought the charges too close to the mayoral election. Bove said the timing and Williams' actions “threatened the integrity of the proceedings.” After Williams resigned late last year, he wrote an op-ed that didn’t mention Adams by name but decried corruption in New York government. Adams has accused Williams and the U.S. attorney’s office of targeting him politically, especially after Adams criticized the Biden administration’s response to a surge in immigration.
The second reason Bove said the criminal case should be dropped is because he said it’s restricting the mayor’s ability to focus on illegal immigration and violent crime. He said Adams needs to be able to help federal efforts to protect Americans from the effects of mass migration.
So, does this mean Adams is legally in the clear for good?
Not necessarily.
In a video address on Tuesday, Adams said “this case will no longer continue.”
But the Justice Department memo tells the U.S. attorney’s office to dismiss the case “without prejudice.” That’s a legal term that means prosecutors could bring the charges again in the future. The memo states that the directive to drop the charges isn’t based on the strength of the case or the work of the line prosecutors who pursued it, and it recommends that the U.S. attorney’s office decide whether to revive their prosecution after the election this fall.
The directive comes just weeks after prosecutors said in a court filing that law enforcement had uncovered “additional criminal conduct” by the mayor — signaling a possible updated indictment with new charges.
Andrew Bauer, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, said it’s unclear at this point whether the case will be resuscitated in the future.
“It probably depends in some part on how nice Eric Adams plays with the administration. How much he cracks down on immigration. How those violent crime numbers are going to look,” he said. “You’re in Trump’s favor until you’re not.”
Adams and Trump have grown closer in recent weeks, with both claiming that prosecutors politically targeted them. The mayor met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, attended his inauguration, and has allegedly instructed city officials not to criticize the president. Trump said at a press conference after his reelection that he thought Adams had been “treated pretty unfairly.”
John Carman, an attorney who often represents defendants in federal cases, said the chances of the indictment coming back in the next four years “approach zero.” By the time Trump is out of office, he said, the statute of limitations will be fast approaching.
A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York declined to comment.
Adams wasn’t the only one charged in this case. What does this mean for the other defendants?
Eden Arkan, a Brooklyn real estate mogul accused of funneling illicit donations from the Turkish government to Adams’ 2021 campaign, pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge last month. Mohammed Bahi, a former liaison to the Muslim community, also plans to take a guilty plea, according to court papers filed last week.
The U.S. attorney’s office said it couldn’t comment on the future of those cases.
Carman said there’s no guarantee that prosecutors would dismiss the charges against Arkan and Bahi if they drop Adams’ case. He said the U.S. attorney’s office probably offered them a plea deal in exchange for their cooperation. But if Adams’ case doesn’t go to trial, he said, “it changes the whole dynamic.”
“It leaves these people at a level of vulnerability that’s much more significant than it would be had the mayor’s case gone forward,” he said. “They would have been given an opportunity to testify, and they would be richly rewarded by the sentencing court for doing that.”
What happens next?
The Department of Justice's memo instructs acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Danielle Sassoon to dismiss the charges. So, that means it’s up to her to decide whether to drop the case.
Sassoon, who was named interim U.S. attorney last month, has worked at the Southern District since 2016 and prosecuted former crypto executive Sam Bankman-Fried, according to her official bio. She is also a member of the Federalist Society, a conservative legal organization.
Carman said the department’s memo was an order for Sassoon — not a suggestion.
“ If she were to respond to the Department of Justice by saying, ‘Look, I got the message. I don't agree. We're going to move forward with this prosecution,’ I think she would probably be on the unemployment line in two days,” he said.
Bauer said Sassoon might resign if she disagrees with the directive or doesn’t want to be seen as being too politically motivated.
“You learn from really great people at the SDNY who all have the same goal. And that goal is to do the right thing for the right reasons,” he said. “This is not the right thing.”
Bauer said stepping down would likely earn her respect from New York law firms who might want to hire her after Congress confirms Trump’s permanent appointee, if she rejects the Trump administration’s demands. But even if she leaves her post in protest, Bauer said, whoever replaces her will follow orders.
“I think it’s going to be dismissed, whether by Danielle or somebody else,” he said.
Once prosecutors make their formal request to dismiss the case, a federal judge will need to sign off. Bauer said U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, who is presiding over the case, could technically refuse to dismiss the charges. But he said that’s unlikely.
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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