Judge Ends Eric Adams Case, but Sharply Criticizes Trump’s Justice Dept. - The New York Times
Judge Dale E. Ho refused to let the government leave open the prospect of reinstating charges against the mayor. But he acknowledged the president’s power to determine the fate of prosecutions.
The department had argued that the bribery and fraud charges should be dropped for three reasons: They were brought too close to the mayoral election; the U.S. attorney who brought the case had created “appearances of impropriety”; and, most importantly, the prosecution was hindering the mayor’s cooperation with Mr. Trump’s immigration plans.
Judge Ho roundly rejected all three arguments.
"Everything here smacks of a bargain: Dismissal of the indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions,” the judge wrote in his 78-page decision. He suggested that the arguments about impropriety and timing were misleading and insincere.
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| The Justice Department told prosecutors to seek dismissal of the charges, saying they were interfering with Mayor Eric Adams’s ability to further President Trump’s deportation agenda. Graham Dickie/The New York Times |
