DOJ Orders Charges To Be Dismissed Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams On Certain Conditions

The U.S. Department of Justice ordered federal prosecutors this week to dismiss the criminal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D).

The DOJ sent a memo to the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York directing them to “dismiss the pending charges in United States v. Adams, No. 24 Cr. 556 (SDNY) as soon as is practicable.”

The order, which was authorized by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, indicated that there conditions that must be met for the charges to be dropped, including a review of the case “by the confirmed U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, following the November 2025 mayoral election.”

“There shall be no further targeting of Mayor Adams or additional investigative steps prior to that review, and you are further directed to take all steps within your power to cause Mayor Adams’ security clearances to be restored,” the memo stated.

The DOJ said that it has not assessed “the strength of the evidence or the legal theories on which the case is based” which is why it is deferring the case to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The memo states that the order “in no way calls into question the integrity and efforts of the line prosecutors responsible for the case, or your efforts in leading those prosecutors in connection with a matter you inherited.”

Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove said that there were two reasons why it reached the decision that it did.

“First, the timing of the charges and more recent public actions by the former U.S. Attorney responsible for initiating the case have threatened the integrity of the proceedings, including by increasing prejudicial pretrial publicity that risks impacting potential witnesses and the jury pool,” the memo said.

The memo claimed that Adams’ criticisms of the Biden administration’s immigration policies could have played a factor in the decision to charge Adams.

“Second, the pending prosecution has unduly restricted Mayor Adams’ ability to devote full attention and resources to the illegal immigration and violent crime that escalated under the policies of the prior Administration,” the memo said. “We are particularly concerned about the impact of the prosecution on Mayor Adams’ ability to support critical, ongoing federal efforts ‘to protect the American people from the disastrous effects of unlawful mass migration and resettlement,’ as described in Executive Order 14165.”

“Accomplishing the immigration objectives established by President Trump and the Attorney General is every bit as important— if not more so as the objectives that the prior Administration pursued by releasing violent criminals such as Viktor Bout, the ‘Merchant of Death,'” the memo concluded. “Accordingly, based on these additional concerns that are distinct from the weaponization problems, dismissal without prejudice is also necessary at this time.”