The Justice Department ordered federal prosecutors Monday to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, arguing in a remarkable departure from prosecutorial norms that the case was interfering with the mayor's ability to crack down on illegal immigration and violent crime. In a memo obtained by the AP, acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove told prosecutors to immediately pause the prosecution, which he described as politically tainted. He said the order was prompted not by the strength or weakness of the case, but because it had distracted Adams from devoting his "full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that has escalated under the policies of the prior Administration."
The Justice Department's order directs that the case be dismissed without prejudice, which means it could conceivably be refiled later. The memo marked a radical departure from longstanding Justice Department norms, both in terms of the directive to dismiss an ongoing case that prosecutors had already deemed meritorious and because of its stated rationale that a powerful defendant could be too occupied with official duties to face accountability for alleged crimes. Public officials at the highest level of government are routinely investigated by the Justice Department, including President Trump, without prosecutors arguing that they should be let off the hook to attend to government service.
Adams, a Democrat, has recently sought Trump's support, per the New York Times—going to Mar-a-Lago, skipping King Day events to attend the inauguration, and announcing he would not publicly criticize the new president. An attorney for Adams said Monday's order vindicates the mayor, calling it an "unfortunate and misguided prosecution." Elizabeth Glazer, a former federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, said the Justice Department's order threatens the sovereignty of the office. "It goes so contrary to this notion that cases are based on the evidence and the evidence alone and that there is not a political thumb on the scale and this letter makes clear that it is the political thumb on the scale that is the most important factor here," she said.
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