BREAKING: Federal judge permanently dismisses corruption case against Eric Adams 'with prejudice'

A federal judge has dismissed the public corruption case brought by the Biden administration against New York City Mayor Eric Adams "with prejudice," meaning the case cannot be brought again. 

In February, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice. In Manhattan Federal Judge Dale Ho’s decision, he criticized the attempt to dismiss the case in order to get Adams’ cooperation on immigration matters, per the New York Daily News.

"DOJ’s immigration enforcement rationale is both unprecedented and breathtaking in its sweep. DOJ cites no examples, and the Court is unable to find any, of the government dismissing charges against an elected official because doing so would enable the official to facilitate federal policy goals."

"And DOJ’s assertion that it has ‘virtually unreviewable’ license to dismiss charges on this basis is disturbing in its breadth, implying that public officials may receive special dispensation if they are compliant with the incumbent administration’s policy priorities. That suggestion is fundamentally incompatible with the basic promise of equal justice under law," Ho wrote.

Paul Clement, the former solicitor general under President George W Bush who advised Ho on the matter, said that the idea of a mayor feeling indebted to the president over fears that the cause would be brought again was "deeply troubling."

Ho wrote, "[After] DOJ decided to seek dismissal of his case, the Mayor took at least one new immigration-related action consistent with the preferences of the new administration. Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions."

Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, said, "The case against Eric Adams should have never been brought in the first place—and finally today that case is gone forever. From Day 1, the mayor has maintained his innocence and now justice for Eric Adams and New Yorkers has prevailed."

Ho wrote in his decision that there was "no evidence—zero" that prosecutors with the Southern District of New York "had any improper motives."

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