Federal Prosecutors Ordered To Appear At Court Hearing To Discuss Justice Department’s Effort To Drop Charges Against Eric Adams

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered prosecutors to appear in court to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to dismiss the charges filed against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Judge Dale E. Ho in Manhattan scheduled a hearing for Wednesday to hear why prosecutors wish to dismiss the case.

“The parties shall be prepared to address, inter alia, the reasons for the Government’s motion, the scope and effect of Mayor Adams’s ‘consent[] in writing,’” the order read.

New: Judge Ho orders Eric Adams & DOJ officials to show up in court tomorrow to explain the dismissal of the bribery charges.

“The parties shall be prepared to address, inter alia, the reasons for the Government’s motion, the scope and effect of Mayor Adams’s “consent” …” pic.twitter.com/8NdCTbgmfH

— Frank G. Runyeon (@frankrunyeon) February 18, 2025

A closer look:

* Images from Frank G. Runyeon X Post *

Per Reuters:

The hearing comes after a Justice Department official appointed by Republican President Donald Trump ordered prosecutors to seek dismissal of the case. At least a half-dozen federal prosecutors resigned rather than obey the order, but other officials eventually formally sought dismissal on Friday.

U.S. District Judge Dale Ho, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden, ordered the parties to appear at a hearing on Wednesday at 2 p.m. EST (1900 GMT) to discuss the matter.

Four deputies to Adams plan to resign in a withdrawal of support for the embattled Democratic mayor, who has warmed to Trump since being indicted last year on charges of taking bribes from Turkish officials. He has pleaded not guilty.

In ordering prosecutors to dismiss the case, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said the charges were distracting Adams from helping Trump crack down on illegal immigration, one of the administration’s top priorities.

Federal judge schedules hearing to address motion to dismiss Mayor Eric Adams case https://t.co/Moea9bq75L pic.twitter.com/nAc5L2i5QX

— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) February 18, 2025

The federal judge overseeing the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams has scheduled a hearing on the Justice Department’s request to drop the charges. https://t.co/zasrc15ZYR

— Bloomberg Politics (@bpolitics) February 18, 2025

From POLITICO:

Ho’s order is the first indication that he may not quietly accept the Justice Department’s effort to torpedo the case, in which Adams is accused of bribery and other corruption charges. Some legal experts think the judge has limited power to resist the dismissal, but others believe he could refuse to allow the charges to be dropped. The advocacy group Common Cause has asked Ho to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the case.

The effort to drop the case initiated with a top Justice Department official, Emil Bove, who last week directed the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office to seek a dismissal of the charges against Adams, a Democrat.

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Bove wrote in a memo to the office that the case has “improperly interfered” with the mayor’s reelection campaign and could hurt his ability to support Trump’s immigration agenda. Bove also wrote that the decision wasn’t based on the strength of the evidence or on the legal theories underpinning the case.

Bove’s order to abandon the case triggered a wave of resignations from lawyers in the U.S. attorney’s office and at the Justice Department in Washington. Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney in Manhattan, alleged that Bove and Adams appeared to be engaged in an improper deal.

In her resignation letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi last week, Sassoon recounted a Jan. 31 meeting with Adams’ lawyers in which she said “Adams’s attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the Department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.”

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

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