A federal judge on Friday did not immediately sign off on the U.S. Department of Justice’s bid to abandon federal corruption charges brought against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and instead appointed an outside attorney to present independent arguments on the government’s motion to dismiss.
U.S. District Court Judge Dale Ho wrote that “to assist with its decision-making via an adversarial process” he is appointing Paul Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general under President George Bush who has argued dozens of cases before the Supreme Court, to weigh in on the case.
Clement’s appointment to assist the court’s decision-making is appropriate “particularly… in light of the public importance of this case, which calls for careful deliberation,” wrote Ho.
Ryan Goodman, a professor at New York University School of Law, wrote on Bluesky that Ho had done “the right thing,” and a Leah Litman, a law professor at the University of Michigan Law School, expressed the same.
The move poses a hurdle to the Trump administration’s plan to cease prosecuting the Democratic mayor, which it rationalized by saying that the case could hurt Adams’ ability to support Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. The move has been called a quid pro quo to ensure Adams’ compliance with the administration’s immigration crackdown.
The move to drop charges against Adams sparked a crisis within the Department of Justice and within Adams own administration when, last week, top Justice Department official Emil Bove ordered federal prosecutors in Manhattan to dismiss the indictment against Adams — prompting the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, to depart rather than carry out the directive.
Earlier this week, four deputy mayors working under Adams also announced their exit.
Bove himself submitted court papers seeking the dismissal. But in a sign that it might not be so easy to get rid of the charges against Adams, Ho ordered the Department of Justice to appear in court and explain its rationale for no longer pursuing its prosecution of Adams.
According to the local outlet Hell Gate, Bove told Ho that even if the Justice Department’s move constitutes a quid pro quo, it doesn’t matter. “I don’t concede, and I don’t think it’s correct, that even if there was a quid pro quo, there would be any issue with this motion,” Bove said.
Separately, in addition to a chorus calling for Adams’ resignation, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has also faced calls to remove Adams, which she has the power to do under state and city law. On Thursday, Hochul announced that instead of taking that step, she would increase oversight of the mayor’s office.
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