Mayor Eric Adams asks judge to dismiss corruption charges this week before political deadline
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City Mayor Eric Adams asked a federal judge on Monday to drop criminal corruption charges before a political deadline this week -- trying to speed up a decision by the judge in the case.
The mayor wants the case dropped before petitions to get on the June primary ballot are due on April 3, according to his lawyer.
"Now, with the petition-filing deadline just days away, we respectfully urge the Court to issue its decision as soon as possible," the mayors attorney, Alex Spiro, said in a letter to Judge Dale Ho.
The Justice Department has asked the judge to dismiss the charges without prejudice to free Adams to cooperate with President Donald Trumps immigration agenda. Without prejudice means the charges could resurface.
Ho accepted a legal brief urging him to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it could not be revived, eliminating an incentive for the mayor to bow to administration demands.
Adams pleaded not guilty in federal court last September to charges related to an alleged conspiracy with Turkish nationals that landed him lavish gifts in exchange for beneficial treatment.
Trump's Justice Department asked in February to dismiss the charges, a move that caused several prosecutors to step down in protest, including the Trump-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon, who alleged a quid pro quo.
"It is a breathtaking and dangerous precedent to reward Adams's opportunistic and shifting commitments on immigration and other policy matters with dismissal of a criminal indictment," Sassoon wrote at the time. "Nor will a court likely find that such an improper exchange is consistent with the public interest."
Meanwhile, Mayor Adams held a rally Monday to support his proposal to eliminate income taxes on the city's poorest residents. Amid his federal indictment, events like these are what passes for a campaign.
The frontrunner, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, is running hard and racking up endorsements. On Sunday, Cuomo courted Black voters at Abyssinian Baptist Church.
"This city has to launch the counterrevolution against President Trump," Cuomo said. This city has to stand up and say, 'We see a different America.'"
However, Senator Zellnor Myrie told reporters on Monday that Cuomo's agenda is all about Cuomo.
"Andrew Cuomo has not been a friend to the Black community," Myrie said. "Andrew Cuomo has come to our community to rehabilitate his image."
Myrie was among four candidates endorsed Sunday by the progressive Working Families Party, in an attempt to defeat Cuomo in the ranked-choice Democratic primary.
As for Mayor Adams, he accused Cuomo and the others of stealing his ideas, like "axing the tax."
"Everyone is 'Eric-like.' You don't have to have 'Eric-like' when you have Eric," Adams said.
The mayor has insisted he has a strategy for re-election, and he hasn't ruled out running as an Independent in the general election in November.
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