Mayor Eric Adams’ criminal case will stay in limbo for several more weeks — as a federal judge said Friday he wants to hear from an independent lawyer before deciding whether to toss the charges.
Manhattan federal Judge Dale Ho ordered Adams’ April 21 corruption trial adjourned as he appointed former US Solicitor General Paul Clement to argue against the Justice Department’s position that the mayor’s case should be dismissed.
He wrote in a five-page order that such an argument was necessary to hear because the DOJ effectively took the same position as Adams’ defense — and “in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation.”
The move comes after a hearing this week in which both the government and Adams’ lawyers urged the court to dismiss the bribery case, which they claimed was stopping the mayor from helping with President Trump’s immigration agenda.
The judge noted Friday he would “endeavor to rule expeditiously” after hearing Clement’s arguments, and potential counterarguments from the feds and Adams’ lawyers.
The court asked Clement to file his arguments by March 4 and said a possible hearing could be held on March 14, though Adams won’t have to appear.
Clement served as solicitor general under President George W. Bush and represented conservative causes before the US Supreme Court several times in recent years. He was also one of Fox News’ attorneys in its lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems.
Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro didn’t return a request for comment.
Ho’s order will keep Adams’ corruption case alive – albeit on life support – as the mayor faces what could be a bruising primary election and growing questions about his ability to lead New York City.
Adams had received a stunning potential reprieve last week from Acting Assistant Attorney General Emil Bove, who is Trump’s former criminal defense lawyer.
Bove ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors – who began their probe into Adams in 2021, before he became mayor – to dismiss the case, although he also left open the possibility of reviving the charges at an undisclosed later date.
He claimed the charges were brought as part of a politically motivated prosecution and argued that Adams’ ability to lead the nation’s largest city and help with Trump’s immigration agenda was hindered because his security clearance was revoked due to the case.
The unusual move came after Adams’ legal team lobbied for Trump’s help in killing the case as the mayor, a Democrat, cozied up to the Republican commander-in-chief.
Bove’s memo ordering prosecutors to drop the charges — for reasons having nothing to do with the strength of the case — didn’t go over well with Danielle Sassoon, the acting head of the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office.
Sassoon resigned in protest, alleging that Adams and Trump’s DOJ officials agreed to a “quid pro quo” in which the mayor conditioned his support for the president’s immigration agenda on his case going away.
The government’s plan to leave open the possibility of re-indicting Adams later is a “dismissal-with-leverage” gambit that keeps Adams wrapped tightly around Trump’s finger, the case’s lead prosecutor, Hagan Scotten, wrote in his own resignation letter.
Bove appeared by himself at the hearing Wednesday in Manhattan federal court where he argued in favor of tossing the case.“The continuation of this prosecution is interfering with national security and immigration enforcement initiatives being run and conducted by the Executive Branch,” Bove told the judge.
Bove added he didn’t “concede” that the judge had the power to keep the case alive “even if there was a quid pro quo” between Adams and Trump’s camp.
https://nypost.com/2025/02/21/us-news/eric-adams-nyc-trial-in-limbo-as-attorney-appointed-to-argue-against-dojs-bid-to-dismiss-historic-case/
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