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US justice department tells prosecutors to drop NYC mayor's corruption case

Christal Hayes
BBC News
Getty Images Eric Adams seen in a suit exiting a vehicle Getty Images
Adams is accused of accepting illegal campaign funds and gifts from Turkish businessmen

The US justice department has told federal prosecutors to drop their corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The order came from the acting deputy attorney general, appointed by President Donald Trump, who said the indictment had "restricted" the mayor's ability to address "illegal immigration and violent crime" in the city.

Adams, a Democrat, has recently built a closer relationship with Trump, a Republican, and has told law enforcement to co-operate with the president's immigration raids. But he denies speaking to Trump about his case.

The mayor is accused of accepting illegal campaign funds and gifts in exchange for his influence as mayor. He has pleaded not guilty to five charges.

Prosecutors have not yet commented to indicate whether they intend to drop the case as requested. Any decision to do so will need to be formally submitted to the court and approved by a judge.

"You are directed, as authorised by the attorney general, to dismiss the pending charges," read the memo from Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove.

The memo adds that the case may be reviewed again after the November 2025 mayoral election, but it says no further "investigate steps" should be taken until then.

It also tells prosecutors to "take all steps within your power to cause Mayor Adams' security clearance to be restored".

Bove, who worked as Trump's defence lawyer during his criminal trial last year, wrote that the justice department "reached this conclusion without assessing the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based".

He said the move "in no way calls into question the integrity and efforts" of the prosecutors who brought the case.

The memo followed a reported meeting between Adams' lawyers and federal prosecutors in New York.

Adams attended the presidential inauguration last month and also flew to Florida for a meeting with Trump.

In recent weeks, the 64-year-old mayor has directed city law enforcement to co-operate with federal immigration authorities on fresh New York City raids. Critics say this undermines local sanctuary city laws, which direct city leaders to not co-operate with authorities unless they are aiming to arrest dangerous criminals.

Before the election, Trump said he and Adams had been "persecuted" for speaking against the immigration policies of Trump's presidential predecessor, Joe Biden.

The justice department memo says "it cannot be ignored that Mayor Adams criticized the prior administration's immigration policies before the charges were filed".

According to the 57-page indictment brought against the mayor in September, Adams is alleged to have accepted illegal gifts worth over $100,000 (£75,000) from Turkish citizens and at least one government official.

In exchange, Turkish officials are believed to have sought favours from the mayor, including help skirting safety regulations to open a consulate in New York, according to prosecutors.

Professor Stephen Gillers, an expert on legal ethics at New York University Law School, told NBC News that Bove's memo ordering the case to be dropped was "a baseless and offensive slur against the former US attorney and the lawyers who worked on the Adams case".

The mayor's lawyer, meanwhile, said it was a victory for his client. "As I said from the outset, the mayor is innocent - and he would prevail. Today he has," Alex Spiro said.

The justice department's move to halt the corruption charges against Adams came on the same day that Trump told the same department to pause enforcement of a law that bars US companies from bribing foreign governments to get business.

Trump had called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) a "horrible law". He said the move would allow American firms to compete with countries not restricted by such laws, adding: "It's going to mean a lot more business for America."