Lawyer for Eric Adams says mayor was political target by 'zealous' prosecutor
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Mayor Eric Adams "is innocent" and "never used his position for personal benefit," his attorney said Wednesday after the Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors to dismiss the case.
"The first-of-its-kind airline upgrade case is over," defense attorney Alex Spiro said.
Mayor Adams let his defense attorney do the talking on Wednesday morning, insisting that the federal bribery case against the mayor is effectively over.
Spiro disparaged Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney who brought the case for "trying to take Mayor Adams out" for political reasons.
"This was no search for truth," Spiro said. He then flashed an image of Williams' recent op-ed about the "sad state of New York government' and called Williams a "zealous" prosecutor who brought a "suspect" case.
"They timed this prosecution to interfere with the election, to interfere with the vote," Spiro said. "This case grew from a rotten tree."
It's an attempt to end speculation that Adams is now beholden to Donald Trump after Trump's Justice Department issued the order demanding that prosecutors in New York drop the case against Adams.
In a speech Wednesday, the mayor declared that it was time to move forward.
"I thank the Justice Department for its honesty," he said. "Now we can put this cruel episode behind us and focus entirely on the future of our city."
But the order allows the case to be revisited in November. Some, like Rev Al Sharpton, said it was a form of blackmail.
"I know that he is now a hostage of Donald Trump's Administration," Sharpton said.
That's a suggestion Spiro rejects.
"Any case could always, ever, maybe one day be brought," Spiro said. "This isn't hanging over anybody's head. This case is over. I think everybody knows this case is over."
On Wednesday, Mayor Adams, himself, insisted he knows what's best for New York.
"Look at what I have done, how I have recovered this city, how we have fought for the safety of everyone in our care," Adams said. "There's nothing going to change with that. There's a level of consistency, but we have accomplished and we're going to continue to do that."
Two of the mayor's associates have pleaded guilty to related charges. The Justice Department's order does not affect those cases.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has not yet filed a motion to dismiss Adams' case.
(ABC News contributed to this report.)
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