Lawyer recommends judge dismiss Adams case without possibility of reinstating charges

The corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams should be dismissed in a way that makes certain it cannot be reinstated, otherwise it "hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles" if Adams fails to cooperate with President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, a lawyer appointed to make an independent assessment of the case said Friday.

The lawyer, Paul Clement, who served as solicitor general under the Bush administration, said that while the judge cannot force the government to "continue a prosecution against its will," the judge is authorized "to consider how the prosecution should be discontinued."

Judge Dale Ho sought the independent assessment from Clement after the Justice Department moved to dismiss the Adams case without prejudice, meaning the charges could be revived.

Clement said, "A dismissal without prejudice creates a palpable sense that the prosecution outlined in the indictment and approved by a grand jury could be renewed, a prospect that hangs like the proverbial Sword of Damocles over the accused."

The Justice Department sought to free Adams from criminal prosecution so he could cooperate with Trump's immigration policies.

"There is an inherent risk that once an indictment has been procured, the prospect of reindictment could create the appearance, if not the reality, that the actions of a public official are being driven by concerns about staying in the good graces of the federal executive, rather than the best interests of his constituents," Clement said.

Dismissal with prejudice – meaning the case could not be revived – "avoids those concerns," Clement said.

There is "more than sufficient" reason to dismiss the case against Mayor Adams as requested, the Justice Department said in a court filing late Friday evening, that included excerpts of private communications from the federal prosecutors who resigned in protest of the order to drop the charges.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche and Emil Bove, now the number three official in the Justice Department, quoted a draft letter from Danielle Sassoon, who resigned as acting US Attorney, that cast an unflattering light on an op-ed written by her former boss, Damian Williams, who brought the Adams case. Williams published an op-ed making the case for political reform shortly after he left office.

"On February 12, 2025, the recently-resigned Acting U.S. Attorney sent herself a draft letter stating that she was personally disappointed in [her] predecessor's self-serving actions after his departure," Blanche and Bove said.

The filing also quoted from a message sent by Hagan Scotten, another prosecutor on the Adams case who resigned, as saying "that it was 'pretty plausible' to him that [Williams] 'had a political motive in bringing this case."

Blanche and Bove, who represented Trump during criminal proceedings prior to the election, requested the messages be filed under seal, so their context is not fully clear.

"We have said all along this was a political hit job masquerading as a prosecution - the prosecutors' own words now reveal they thought the decision to prosecute this case likely was politically motivated," the mayor's attorneys Alex Spiro and William Burck said of Friday's filing.

Adams was indicted last year in the Southern District of New York on five counts in an alleged long-standing conspiracy connected to improper benefits, illegal campaign contributions and an attempted cover-up.

He pleaded not guilty and has defied calls for him to step down.

Last month, the Justice Department instructed federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to drop the charges against Adams without prejudice.

The now-former acting US attorney for Manhattan, Danielle Sassoon, resigned days later in protest.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi prior to her resignation, Sassoon repeatedly suggested DOJ leadership was explicitly aware of a quid pro quo suggested by Adams' attorneys, saying Adams' vocal support of Trump's immigration policies would be boosted by dismissing the indictment against him.

Adams' lawyer denied any quid pro quo following Sassoon's resignation.