Federal judge indefinitely adjourns New York City Mayor Eric Adams' criminal trial
WASHINGTON -- A federal judge has not dismissed Mayor Eric Adams' criminal trial, but on Friday announced it was indefinitely adjourned.
"In light of the Government's motion and the representations of the parties during the conference, it is clear that trial in this matter will not go forward on April 21," U.S. District Judge Dale Ho wrote.
Judge Ho is also appointing an independent attorney to argue against the DOJ's motion to dismiss the case against Mayor Adams.
He ordered an outside attorney - former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement - to make arguments on the DOJ's dismissal request, ordering briefs be filed by March 7 and tentatively scheduling oral argument on March 14.
The judge says it is appropriate, "particularly so in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation."
The mayor said he's not disappointed in Judge Ho's decision to appoint an independent lawyer, saying it's part of the process, and he has a "great deal of faith" in his legal team.
"I think life is full of processes. It's about the process. I respect the process," Adams said.
To accommodate Mayor Adams' "responsibilities and the burden of continued court appearances," Judge Ho ruled that Adams need not attend any future court proceedings.
Comptroller Brad Lander said Judge Ho made "a very wise decision" to bring in an outside lawyer to evaluate the Justice Department's motion to dismiss the mayor's case.
"Let's give him his credit, he's appointed this lawyer to argue the other side of the case, I hope if he chooses to dismiss, he dismisses with prejudice, so that then mayor is not being held hostage," Lander said. "I'll still be running to replace him, I think New Yorkers are done with this corrupt chaos."
Hochul expected to meet Trump in Washington
The news of the delayed trial comes as New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was expected to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington on Friday during a session of the National Governors Association.
It is happening days after Trump revoked approval for congestion pricing and one day after the governor announced a package of oversight proposals for City Hall.
On Thursday, Hochul proposed new rules that could significantly affect the way Mayor Eric Adams governs New York City.
The proposed guardrails are designed to curb the influence Trump could have over him after accusations of a quid pro quo deal between Adams and Trump is what led to the Justice Department ordering the mayor's corruption case to be dropped.
Mayor Adams sits down with Eyewitness News to discuss the latest developments
Mayor Adams spoke to Eyewitness News, and said he does not believe the restrictions placed on him by the governor are necessary.
"She did an evaluation. We felt as though we did not need that. There was no legal reason to do it," he said.
Despite that, the mayor said he will continue to work with the governor to move the city forward and protect New Yorkers, and he says that includes standing up against increasing immigration enforcement that violates the city's sanctuary status.
Adams also defended his deferential stance on the president, saying that "pushing back" may not be the way to get results with the administration.
"Pushing back is not yelling and fighting. It's getting results," he said. "That may be popular to people who don't want the president, but the president is the president. I can't get into a yelling match just because it feels good. I have to produce for this city."
He insists that he's doing what he was elected to do, and that critics are wrong to question his motives in working with the Trump Administration.
He pointed to the his fight to reclaim $80 million in emergency FEMA funding seized by the federal government, that was allocated to the city for the ongoing migrant crisis.
On Friday, the city's Law Department announced its filing of the lawsuit against the Trump administration for the "lawless money grab" taken out of the New York City's bank accounts.
Comptroller Lander said, "I think the mayor was slow to it, but I'm glad it's filed," but still had his doubts.
"That's only because I demanded it last week. You know we raised the alarm bells when the $80 million was stolen," Lander said. "The mayor was AWOL. We demanded they go into court in a lawsuit. We shouldn't have had to demand it."
"Look at the outrage that we heard from the $80 million that was clawed back," Adams said. "But those same people didn't raise their voices when we had $7 billion that was removed from the city. That's the hypocrisy that you're seeing right now. You see consistency for me. I raise issues with the previous administration. I'm raising issues with this administration about funding for New Yorkers."
Meanwhile, the mayor has been consistent in saying the city should cooperate with ICE to deport migrants accused of violent crimes, but he told Eyewitness News that cooperation has its limits, and that in their meeting, he and Border Czar Tom Homan understood that.
"He agreed that they can't go into schools without a judicial order. He agreed they can't go into our shelters without a judicial order," he said.
Adams said he's ready to push back if Homan tries to go into schools without judicial warrants.
"Yes! Yes, the law is the law. You know, we are going to follow the law of the land," Adams said.
Despite the mayor's reassurances, for the sixth day straight, there were protests calling on Hochul to remove Adams from office on Friday.
Hochul announced her decision on Thursday that Adams will stay in office, citing the will of the voters and Democratic elections. However, she proposed possible restrictions through the end of the year that she will have to get passed through both the City Council and the State Legislature.
However, heated demonstrators said they have no signs of slowly down and they don't want the proposed oversight -- they want Adams out.
"It's not an oversight problem, the problem is Eric Adams, we have a corrupt mayor beholden to Donald Trump, this is a power grab, what we need is Eric Adams to be removed and we're not going to have anything that is less than that," one protester said.
At least six protesters were arrested outside of Hochul's office during Friday's protest.
----------
* Get Eyewitness News Delivered
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
